A Second Chance Through Time
by maisey2k10
Summary: What if Hermione was given a second chance to save the world? What if Lily Potter wasn't the one to protect Harry from the killing curse? It's the time of the first war. It's at its peak and the dark side was winning. But lookout Voldemort because there is someone coming and she is out for your blood. EDITING!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: And It Begins**

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Summary: What if Hermione was given a second chance to save the world? What if Lily Potter wasn't the one to protect Harry from the killing curse? It's the time of the first war. It's at its peak and the dark side was winning. But lookout Voldemort because there is someone coming and she is out for your blood.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the rights to the Harry Potter world; that belongs to the legend that is J.K Rowling. I am not making money from this in any way and the only thing that is mine is the plot.

AN: As promised, I have just finished posting the epilogue for 'Marriage Act of 1998' and here we have the first chapter of my new fic.

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 **Hogwarts – Saturday 2nd May 1998**

Remus and Tonks were dead. Fred was dead. Percy was dead. Luna Lovegood was dead. Seamus was dead. Snape was dead.

Voldemort was dead.

Harry was dead.

The war had been won but at the cost of many. All Hermione could remember was the clash of two spells and all fighting stopped to watch the outcome of the war. That was it. It all came down to that one spell. But who would win?

The answer... Hermione wasn't sure.

It was a victory for the light as Voldemort crumpled to the floor and turned into ash and it was swept away in the wind. But for Hermione it was a loss. Her best friend, her little brother, the only family she had left... fell to the floor.

Movement surrounded her as Death Eaters fled, as they were being captured and as the wounded was being attended to. Hermione could barely remember moving, but in her lap she cradled the head of a lifeless Harry Potter. He had already died once and this time there were no signs of him coming back.

She screamed her anguish and people approached her to take Harry away from her. She put up wards around them, barricading her and Harry in. She could faintly hear people yelling at her trying to get her attention so she cast a silencing charm around her.

She cried until there were no more tears to fall. When she looked up the sun had long since risen. There was no one outside the wards, she figured they had given up and would wait until she had no choice but to lower the wards. The court yard was free from littered bodies of the dead and injured. All that was left was the rubble of the broken castle. Of the school that had been home to her and Harry, that had been their salvation. Their protection from their abusive families.

Hermione looked down at her right wrist to see that the once beautiful golden band that wrapped around her wrist in intricate roses and vines, now looked to have been burned, with scorch marks marring the design and disfiguring it. She looked to Harry's right wrist to see the same.

That was the only thing she had left tying her to Harry and it was gone.

Only those who were extremely intelligent and knew about bonds would know what those matching marks meant. They meant a sibling bond.

 _Flashback to 1995..._

Hermione had been reading in the library one day in her fifth year, when she came across a text book that spoke of the different bonds that could be found in the wizarding world. They ranged from friendship to love to business. She had come to realise that the book was from the restricted section and had been left on a table. She was interested in the magic that performed the bond and so she read the entire book, front to back in just four days.

That's when she came across the sibling bond and she instantly thought of Harry. They had both been having a bad start to the school year and she thought that the information she had learned would cheer him up.

She immediately took the book to Harry and had him read the passage as they sat in the stairway of the Astronomy Tower. When Harry looked up at her he had a large grin on his face and hope in his eyes and it was the complete opposite of the anger and frustration that he usually wore on his face. Especially after the return of Voldemort, the dementor attack, almost getting expelled from school, being banned from quidditch and the D.A.

"Let's do it" he said with a wide smile.

"Seriously?" she said.

He nodded. "Let's make it official. Brother and sister like we've always been. We're all we have" he said. That was all it took to convince her.

So three days later on a Saturday night during the full moon, Hermione and Harry were in the Room of Requirement. They sat on a rug on either side of a small wooden table. On the table sat a potion Hermione had made two days before. There was a small bowl, four candles in the corner of each table and some parchment and a self inking quill.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Hermione asked.

"More than anything" Harry replied. Hermione nodded and then sighed.

"Okay, let's do this"

She took a deep breath and then she spoke.

"He is my brother but not of blood, he does things I wish I could. We've been like siblings since the day we met, and I will forever be in his debt. So take his life and meld it with mine, so together we may share a blood line. Now siblings we are and siblings we will be, together we will stand for all eternity" she lit two candles with her wand, two diagonally across from each other.

Harry then took a deep breath and spoke.

"She is my sister but not of blood, she does things I wish I could. We've been like siblings since the day we met, and I will forever be in her debt. So take her life and meld it with mine, so together we may share a blood line. Now siblings we are and siblings we will be, together we will stand for all eternity" Harry lit the two remaining candles with his wand.

When he moved his wand back to the table the flames turned purple.

Hermione then took a silver ring from her pocket and put it into the bowl. For the ritual to work you had to sacrifice something of great value to you. Hermione had chosen a ring that belonged to her grandmother and she had carried it with her every day since she was seven years old.

Harry took out a head boy badge and put it into the bowl. It had belonged to his father and Remus had given it to him in his third year.

Hermione took a small sip of the potion she had made and then poured some into the bowl and she handed the potion to Harry, who did the same and then put the potion to the side.

Hermione picked up the parchment and ripped it in half. With the quill she wrote her name on one half of the parchment and rolled it up. She handed Harry the other half and the quill and he did the same. When he had rolled up his parchment, they both lifted it to one of the candles and set fire to it, dropping it in the bowl. They then took each other's hands.

"Fratres sumus, fratres sumus, et sta super. Simul et proteget Dominus habitatores terrae" (Siblings we are and siblings we will stand. Together we will protect the people and the land.)

The flames grew larger and the bowl made a hissing sound. There was a loud bang and the candles went out and they could smell smoke. Hermione asked the room for windows and light, and that's what it gave her. Although it was night out, the windows showed the scene of a summer's day and let natural light into the room.

She let go of Harry's hand and she caught the sight of a glimmer. She looked down to her right wrist and her eyes widened. Around her wrist she had a golden band, that had roses, ivy and vines twining together beautifully and in the middle of the band she had a symbol. It was a sun and a crescent moon. Hermione looked up to see Harry beaming widely at the band and he looked up at her.

"It worked" he said and she had never seen him happier.

"It did" she smiled and then she looked into the bowl to see two necklaces and she picked them up. One necklace was gold and there was a sun pendant and the other necklace was silver and there was a crescent moon and the two pendants were combined and glowing. Hermione pulled them apart and the necklaces separated and the pendants stopped glowing.

She handed the sun pendant necklace to Harry and she put on the crescent moon pendant necklace and he did the same tucking his under his t-shirt.

"There are two theories regarding the sun and moon" Hermione explained them and Harry nodded with a smile.

"We have a war to win" he said after she finished her explanation.

"And we will win. We have the power of the sun and moon on our side" Hermione said confidently.

 _Present time..._

Hermione gripped her necklace as she felt a new wave of pain and sadness hit her.

"Siblings we are and siblings we will be. Together we will stand for all eternity" Hermione whispered.

There was a blinding flash of light and Hermione had to shield her eyes. Slowly she opened them when she felt the light dull and she looked up. There was a woman dressed in a white flowing dress and floating in the air surrounded by light. She looked familiar. Hermione could remember seeing her before. She had kind features, shoulder length red hair... and her eyes... her eyes... were Harry's.

"Lily Potter" Hermione said in disbelief and Lily smiled kindly at Hermione.

"And you my dear, are Hermione Granger, I have been watching you for some time. I owe a great deal of gratitude to you; you have taken care of my son very well"

"He's dead, obviously not well enough" she said quietly and looking down.

"That is why I am here" Hermione's head snapped up to look at her. "It was never supposed to end this way. So many dead, so many innocent lives destroyed. This was not the future that I had been shown, and for that I am truly sorry. There is a way dear, a way for you to have a second chance"

"How?" she asked quickly.

"You must understand, if you take the opportunity that I am offering you, you will never be able to return, this life as you know it will never have existed. Only you will have the memories of this war"

"I don't care, if there's a way to change everything I want to do it"

"Always so selfless" she smiled. "You will be sent back in time, to the time of the first war. To the height of the war. It will be your job to lead everyone out of the darkness and into the peace"

"What about future events? Time is not supposed to be messed with"

"In this case dear, you will not be messing with time; you will be changing it completely, but for the better. You may share with those you deem necessary of your true self. You may share the facts of the future and you may keep with you the items which you have in that clever bag of yours. You may keep momentums from the future, when you are sent back they will be protected along with you. It doesn't matter what you divulge because this future will no longer exist, it will be changed as soon as you leave this time frame. I assure you, no harm can be done to the time line" Lily said kindly.

"Can I stop people from dying?"

"That I cannot answer for certain. Some are destined to die and cannot be saved, whereas others died without purpose. You can try and save lives, but if they were meant to die there is nothing you can do for them. Even changing time won't stop death from claiming its victims" Hermione nodded.

"What about spells and potions? I will know spells and potions that won't have been invented yet"

"You will still be able to cast them and make the potions as long as you are careful and don't take credit. Now to make the story more believable take this"

Something floated down and Hermione caught it in her hands.

"Dumbledore's time turner? I lost it during the hunt"

"That's why I retrieved it for you. If there is one thing that will prove you are from the future it will be Albus' time turner"

"I promise I won't let him use Harry this time. The war will be long over before Harry is old enough to be manipulated"

"I know you won't Hermione. That's why you're the perfect woman for the job"

"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to set things right. Do I tell people that you're the one to send me there?"

"No, skirt around it. I will see you when it's all over. Are you ready?"

"Just a minute" Hermione put her wand in her back pocket, put the time turner in her beaded bag and then she leaned down and kissed Harry's forehead. "We'll meet again Harry, I won't let anyone hurt you this time" she slipped her hands to his neck and removed his necklace and she slipped it over her own head and tucked it under her top with her own necklace. Lily smiled when she saw what she had done. "Now I'm ready"

"Be on your guard, I am not entirely sure where I am sending you. All I know is it will be 1981"

Suddenly everything went black.

* * *

 **Godric's Hollow – Saturday 31st October 1981**

Hermione woke up on the floor; she sat up quickly and hugged herself as the chilly night air hit her, making goose bumps appear over her skin. She wasn't wearing a coat and she had no way of protecting herself from the cold. She was in the same clothes she had been during the final battle.

White trainers that were covered in mud and blood stains, blue jeans that had rips in and were covered in mud and blood stains, a white vest top that had rips in and was covered in blood and a white thin hooded tracksuit jacket that had plenty of rips in and was covered in blood.

She was sure she looked a right mess too. She had cuts on her face, stomach, arms and legs and that's not even counting the bruises or scars from previous battles over the years. Her hair was mattered and held back from her face with a bobble that had half her hair hanging out and her hands were covered in blood and mud. The most disturbing part was she didn't know whose blood it was. She was positive some of it was hers, and she knew some of it was Harry's, but the rest she couldn't be sure. During the respite periods Voldemort gave them, when she wasn't off looking for Harry or destroying a Horcrux, she was helping cover the bodies of the dead and healing the injured.

She stood on her feet and wobbled as she slowly gained her equilibrium. She looked around and took in her environment.

She looked to be in a small backyard of a cottage. She was trying to figure out where she was. She could see faint lights flickering and so she climbed onto the fence for a better look. The street she was on was decorated with lights and pumpkins with candles lit inside of them. She jumped down when something hit her.

1981\. Pumpkins and candles. October. Cottage.

"She didn't" Hermione whispered disbelievingly. She knew where she was. She turned around when she heard shouting, bangs and glass shattering.

"She did" she said and then she rushed forward and pulled her wand from her back pocket. When she reached the door it was locked. She cast charm after charm but nothing would break the locks and in the end she had had enough.

"Bombarda Maxima" she pointed her wand at the door and it was blasted open. "Note to self, don't piss about with unlocking charms" she murmured and then she ran inside.

She ran through the kitchen that had things thrown about the floor and a hole in the wall. She entered the living room to see a very familiar black head of messy hair. Her breath caught, she knew by the time frame that it wasn't Harry so the only other person it could be was James Potter.

She remembered Lily's words. _'You can try and save lives, but if they were meant to die there is nothing you can do to save them'._ She thought to herself. But she could try.

She was spotted by Pettigrew and she felt an intense hatred for the little rat. He raised his wand to her.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Your capturer" she smiled sweetly.

He laughed nervously and then shot a spell off, it bounced off the corner of the wall next to Hermione and hit a small table shattering it to pieces. Hermione smirked. _'As useless as he was in my time'_ she thought.

Hermione lifted her wand and pointed it at him, but she was distracted by glass shattering and he changed into a rat and ran off. But she wasn't worried; she knew where he would be.

The next words she heard had her running towards James.

"Avada Kedavra"

"Impedimenta" she said and she pointed her wand at James' legs. He fell forward and the killing curse whizzed over his head and past Hermione who ducked. Voldemort's eyes went to her.

He didn't look like he had in her time, but he didn't look completely human either. His eyes were a blood red colour, his skin looked pale and waxy and he looked at her with an evil smile and his eyes trailed over her body.

James stood up not realising that someone had just saved his life.

"Sectumsempra" Voldemort pointed his wand and Hermione knew what that spell could do.

"Protego" James yelled.

"Protego Totalum" Hermione yelled and cast her shield in James' direction. James turned around with wide eyes to look at the young woman stood behind him casting the most powerful shield known to wizard kind.

The spell hit the shield but James was flung back into a wall and he fell unconscious. Voldemort watched Hermione as he flicked his wand and part of the wall began to fall towards James. Hermione pointed her wand and cast a spell that would slow down the descent of the wall so it wouldn't cause too much damage. She just hoped she had succeeded in saving James Potter. Then Harry wouldn't have to live with the horrid Dursleys.

"I've never seen you before" Voldemort spoke in a confusingly smooth and charming tone. "Who are you?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business" Hermione said gripping her wand tightly and keeping her eyes on him.

"I am Lord Voldemort" he said, his anger beginning to show.

"Don't you mean Riddle Junior" she said smirking. His eyes hardened.

"How do you know me?"

"I know a lot about you, including your dirty little secret. How would your precious purebloods feel if they found out you're a half-blood" a look entered his eyes Hermione could only describe as raw fury.

"How dare you speak to me that way? I demand you tell me who you are?" he hissed.

"Demand all you want; you're not getting anything from me" she said and she slowly began inching her way to the stairs were she could hear a baby crying. Voldemort noticed.

"Trying to protect the child are we? Well I have some business to attend to, I'll deal with you later" he smiled cruelly and it made Hermione shiver.

He threw a spell at her and she blocked it, but the force at which it hit her shield made her stumble and he took the opportunity to hit with another spell and she collapsed to the floor.

"I will know who you are" he said and he stepped over her body and she fell unconscious.

* * *

Hermione woke up to shouting.

"WHERE'S JAMES? WHO THE FUCK IS THAT?"

She knew that voice anywhere. Her eyes flew open and she sat up quickly, groaning and immediately she regretted it as she felt dizzy and nauseous. She touched the back of her head and brought her hand in front of her eyes to see blood and she groaned louder. This time drawing the attention of the people in the room.

"Who are you?" she looked up to see Sirius. He was pointing his wand at her with a look of fury on his face.

She wobbled to her feet and gripped the wall before taking a few deep breaths and she stood up straight. He looked far younger than he did in her time; his jet black hair fell to just above his shoulders, his dark eyes bored into hers and he didn't look haunted like he did when he had escaped from Azkaban. He looked exhausted and furious but healthy. Hermione realised that the man she once saw as an uncle was very handsome and the thought shocked her.

He looked her over, he could see her cuts, bruises and her clothes covered in tears, mud and blood. It was obvious this wasn't the first battle she had been in that night as a lot of the blood looked fresh, but dried. She slowly bent down to pick up her wand and he gripped his wand tighter.

"I asked you a fucking question" he said coldly.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Always with the swearing" she muttered. "Some things never change" she stood up with her wand in her hand and turned it around so the tip was pointing her way. "I am not here to hurt anyone, I am here to help"

"I've heard that before" he sneered and it looked so foreign on his face.

"I am not here to hurt you or the Potters. I am here as a protector. Here" she held out her wand and he watched her carefully. "Take it, you know a witch's wand is like her left arm. To show I mean you no harm, take my wand" he slowly reached out in case it was a trap and took it from her hand and slipped it into his back pocket.

"Who are you?" he asked this time without the sneer, but with a guarded look on his face.

"My name is Hermione Granger"

"I don't know that name" he said.

"I'm a muggleborn" she heard a crying and she looked behind Sirius to see Hagrid holding a crying Harry and tears filled her eyes.

"I can't believe he's alive. I can't believe you're alive" she said to herself and Sirius narrowed his eyes at her. Before he could speak Hermione spoke first. "Where's James? Is he at the hospital?"

"We can't find him" Sirius spoke.

Hermione's eyes widened. She rushed forward, past Sirius and grabbed her wand from his pocket. His eyes widened at how fast she was, he turned to cast a spell at her thinking she was going to attack Harry, but she stopped in front of some rubble.

"Evanesco" she said clearly and the rubble disappeared leaving behind James Potter. Sirius rushed forward. Hermione looked at Harry happily and then she fainted.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Reveal**

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AN: Hopefully I have answered your questions in this chapter. Like I did with my previous stories, I will aim to update every 2-3 days, but have I let you guys down yet?

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 **St. Mungos – Sunday 8th November 1981**

Hermione awoke to blinding lights. She groaned and shielded her eyes from the light. She heard movement from beside her and she blinked a few times, getting used to the light and she removed her hand from her face. She looked around what was clearly a St Mungos hospital room and she groaned.

"I'm getting sick of ending up in here, soon I'll have a whole bloody ward to myself" she grumbled and then she slowly sat up and noticed she was in a blue hospital gown.

"You've been here before?" she jumped and turned to look at a tired looking Remus Lupin and she stared at him.

"Oh my..." whispered. He looked far different than he did in her time. He had less scars on his face, he looked more muscular, he didn't have a moustache, his hair was lighter and he was... well alive.

He cleared his throat after her just staring at him for several minutes. She had a look on her face like she had seen a ghost, but he could also see a small amount of happiness and hope in her eyes.

"Sorry, it's just really weird to see you like..." she trailed off.

"You know me?" he asked curiously.

"You could say that. Why are you here? Sirius asked you to watch over me didn't he?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, he left a note saying you didn't seem to be a member of the dark side, but he wasn't a hundred percent sure as to your intentions or if you could be trusted. He wanted to wait until you woke up to question you"

She snorted. "How long have I been out? Where is Sirius? Is Harry alright? What about James? Did Lily survive? Why haven't I been healed?" she asked as she noticed she was still covered in cuts and bruises, but the blood and dirt had been cleaned away from her body.

"You've been out eight days. The healers tried to heal you, but they couldn't and no one knows why. Lily died giving birth to Harry" Remus spoke looking at her curiously and Hermione gasped.

 _'Why? She was supposed to save Harry from the killing curse. The time line has definitely changed. I hope nothing has been screwed up. Harry better still be alive'_

"James is recovering well and should be getting discharged either today or tomorrow. Harry is staying with his aunt and uncle until James is released"

She released her breath.

"The Dursleys, I hate those people" Hermione muttered and he raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "You didn't say where Sirius was"

"He's in Azkaban for the murder of Peter Pettigrew and ten muggles. He went crazy after betraying James and..."

"No Remus, it wasn't Sirius. It was that piece of shite rat, Pettigrew, and I know where he is. He will not get away with what he's done and I will get Sirius out of Azkaban"

She jumped out of bed and walked behind a curtain and she found her clothes from the day of the battle and she put them on. They hadn't been cleaned and we're still covered in tears, blood and mud. She stepped out and put her beaded bag over her shoulder, before fixing her hair into a pile of tangled curls on top of her head.

"What happened to you? Who are you? Why do you know so much?"

"I will explain everything when I get back. You go and visit James. I have a stupid dog to save and a rat to trap" he eyes widened when he realised what she had said and he stayed stood in the room for a while before heading to James' room.

* * *

Hermione glamoured her clothes and made a quick trip to Diagon Alley to pick something up and then the Ministry of Magic and she headed straight into the Minister's office without being stopped by anyone.

"Excuse me, you can't just..."

"Sorry Minister Bagnold, but I need your help. I understand that you are putting Death Eaters on trial. Well I know where there's a Death Eater and he's putting a family in danger"

"Why should I believe you?" she asked.

Hermione looked at her. "You don't have a choice. Follow me" she said and then she walked out of the office not even bothering to see if she followed. When she stepped out of the Ministry she looked to see that Bagnold had in fact followed her. Hermione took her arm and without another word apparated them.

* * *

 **The Burrow**

They landed and Hermione walked forwards and Bagnold followed her silently, having no idea why she was listening to the young woman, but for some reason she couldn't help but be intrigued.

When they came to the familiar house Hermione had spent so much time at, she knocked on the door. A younger Arthur Weasley answered the door. He had a few less wrinkles, his hair was thicker and his pudgy stomach was smaller.

"Minister" he said surprised. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I am not entirely sure Mr Weasley" Bagnold looked to Hermione.

 _'Stay calm Hermione, you're probably going to see Percy alive and it won't do good to have a heart attack and scare everyone'_ she thought.

"Mr Weasley..."

"Oh, call me Arthur" he said kindly and she smiled widely.

"Only if you call me Mia" she said smiling and he nodded. "Now Arthur, have you recently acquired any new pets, a rat maybe?"

"Actually yes, is it yours?"

"I'm afraid so, I was wondering if I may have him back"

"Oh, of course, of course. Percy" he yelled and then he turned back to her. "My third eldest son found him in Diagon Alley a few days ago" a five year old Percy appeared at his father's side, along with what was unmistakeably a ten year old Bill and an eight year old Charlie.

"Percy, please give the lovely Mia the rat; he belongs to her" Percy frowned and clutched the rat tightly and he held it to his body. "Percy" he said in a warning tone. Hermione chuckled and then she kneeled down in front of him.

"I'll make you a deal Percy. You give me that old rat and you can have this one" she opened her bag and pulled out a cardboard box and opened it and pulled out a small white rat, that curled up in her hand.

"This rat is only a baby and he needs a lot of looking after. Do you think you could do that for me?" he nodded shyly.

Hermione handed him the new rat and she took the old one that was missing a toe and trying desperately to wiggle out of her grasp and bite her. She inconspicuously cast a stunner with her wand and a whispered spell and put the rat in her bag.

"Well hello there" Bill said smiling at Hermione and she bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing. "You're very pretty" he said and Hermione smiled.

"Why thank you, you're quite handsome yourself" Mr Weasley chuckled as Bill grinned.

"Handsome enough for a kiss?"

"Why not?" Hermione said and then she stood up, moved closer and kissed his cheek and Bill gasped and touched his cheek staring at her as Mr Weasley started laughing.

"Do I get something?" Charlie asked. Hermione dug around in her bag until she found what she was looking for and she pulled out a book on dragons and handed it to him. His eyes lit up. "I love dragons. Thank you Miss" he said grinning.

"My name is Mia" she said smiling. "I'll see you around Arthur?" he smiled widely and then she and Minister Bagnold walked away to the apparition point. Then Hermione took them back to the Ministry.

* * *

 **London - The Ministry of Magic**

"Why did you take me there to get a rat?" she asked when they entered her office.

Hermione removed the rat from her bag and cast the counter charm and Pettigrew was laid on the floor still stunned. Bagnold's eyes widened.

"Pettigrew is alive and he killed those muggles. He was the secret keeper and he gave the location of the Potters to Voldemort and they almost died. He framed Sirius and he is an unregistered animagus. If you don't believe me check his memories. But I wish for Sirius Black to be released immediately. You should put anti-animagus wards around Azkaban as well" Hermione sat down in a chair with no intention of leaving. Bagnold stared at her.

Two hours later Sirius was escorted into the office by a young Kingsley Shacklebot. He looked haggard and filthy.

"You brilliant witch you" he picked her up and spun her in circles and she laughed.

"I thought you didn't trust me and wanted to question me" she said. He immediately put her down and stepped away.

"I do, I take back my hug"

She laughed at him. "Let's go to St Mungos. You won't be asking me questions because I will tell you everything. Let's go"

* * *

 **St Mungos**

They found James' room at the hospital and walked in to find a healthy looking James dressed, with Remus sat in a chair beside the bed and Harry was sat laughing on James' lap. Sirius rushed forward and scooped up Harry in his arms. He spun around in circles and Harry squealed joyfully.

"Pad! Pad!" the one year old called.

"How did you get out?" Remus asked shocked and then Sirius nodded to Hermione and the other two noticed her arrival.

"He was innocent, I went and got Wormtail from where he was hiding and proved to the Minister that Sirius was innocent"

"How do you know that name?" Sirius asked quickly with narrowed eyes.

"I told you I would tell you everything. So no questions, Padfoot" again eyebrows were raised. She looked down and her breath caught. She lifted her right wrist up to see her mark on her wrist glowing brightly once more and fully intact, especially the sun and moon symbol. She looked at Harry quickly.

He looked at her over Sirius' shoulder and his eyes widened. His arms shot out towards her.

"Mimi" he shouted and they all stared in shock as Hermione laughed and tears began falling. She stepped forward and caught Harry, since Sirius almost dropped him in shock.

"Yeah, it's me Harry. I told you I would see you again. I won't let anyone hurt you. Anyone who wants to get to you has to go through me first"

"What the hell?" James yelled in shock and standing up. "Who are you?" he demanded and she looked over to him and nodded.

She sat down in one of the empty seats and Harry refused to let go of her and she chuckled when he started tugging on her hair. Hermione noticed the lightning bolt shaped scar on his head and she knew what it meant and she sighed. But how did Harry survive the curse if Lily had died during birth? She was the one to give him that protection in her world. She would have to figure it out.

"There is so much to tell you, I will only tell you a little bit at first, and I will tell you everything else when I ask Dumbledore to call an Order meeting. I don't want to repeat myself"

"You're part of The Order?" Sirius asked carefully, she nodded. "Prove it" Hermione pulled Harry away from her and gave him to James and Harry started crying.

"Mimi" he cried, reaching out to her and James looked shocked. Not only did Harry rarely cry, he had never met the young woman in the room before and he seemed to have an attachment to her.

"Just a second Harry, be right with you" Hermione took off her blood covered jacket and dropped it onto the chair and then turned around to show that she had a tattoo of a phoenix on her right shoulder.

"Doesn't prove anything" Sirius muttered and she chuckled.

"It should since you went with me to get it. When my parents found out I got a beating with a belt for it, but it was worth it" they looked at her both confused and sadly.

"I've never met you before" Sirius said. She smirked.

"You're a muggle born?" Remus asked.

"Yes" she lifted her left arm to show them the mudblood scar on her forearm; it was only a month old. They winced and glowered when they saw it.

"Who did that to you?" Sirius demanded.

"Bellatrix Lestrange" she saw a look of anger in his eyes. "Anyway, back to me. My name is Hermione Granger, but just call me Mia" she held her arms out and Harry jumped into them. They just stared at her.

"How does my son know you? How do you know us?" James asked warily.

Hermione smiled. "That's complicated, but I will try to explain" she held her right wrist up to show them the band and then she held Harry's up and their eyes widened when they noticed he had the same one. James took him away from Hermione instantly.

"I would never hurt Harry, these bands are a symbol of..."

"A sibling bond" they looked up to see Dumbledore stood in the door way and other than the fact he was alive, he hadn't changed a bit. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Granger"

"Professor, it's good to see you again" she said honestly.

"You know her?" the three men asked.

"Not exactly. Imagine my surprise when the school records appeared on my desk and two Hermione Grangers were registered" they looked at her and she smiled.

"How is that possible?" Remus asked.

"I was born September 19th 1979" they stared at her. "I am from the future and was sent back in time on a mission to change the outcome of the war. I am a member of The Order of the Phoenix. Harry Potter is my best friend. During our fifth year we completed a sibling bond" they stared at her opened mouthed.

"How did you learn of the sibling bond? It is very powerful and very ancient magic that should not be messed with. And how did you brew the potion? It's difficult even for a Potions Master" Dumbledore spoke.

"I believe it was you sir"

"Me?"

"Hmm. I was in the library and I saw you in there which was strange behaviour for you. Before I left the library I walked past the table that you had been sat at and there was a book left out. It was from the restricted section and surprisingly Madam Pince allowed me to check out the book. It took me a while to realise that you wanted me to find the book. You wanted Harry and I to complete the bond. And I brewed poly juice in my second year, I could handle that potion"

"How?" James got out staring at her.

"They call me the wisest witch of the age in the future. Professor Dumbledore himself said that Hogwarts hasn't seen intelligence like mine since the time of Rowena Ravenclaw herself"

"So you're a Ravenclaw then?" Sirius asked intrigued.

"No, Gryffindor" she smirked at him. "Anyway, Harry and I have always been close"

"Is it wise for you to speak of the future?" Remus asked.

"Yes, I may since the future I came from no longer exists. I was sent back to prevent the second war"

"Second war?" they all spoke sitting up taller.

"Voldemort is not dead" they stared at her. "He is just defeated. In 1991, in mine and Harry's first year he comes back and every year we fight him and hold him off. I'm sure you've noticed my appearance" they nodded. "It was the Final Battle, a prophecy stated that Harry had to be the one to kill Voldemort. At the end of the battle we won, but they both died. I'm not only covered in my blood, I have Harry's blood on me, as well as the blood of the fallen and the injured. I was visited by someone and they gave me the opportunity to come back in time and change the future. Something went wrong because the future I lived in was not supposed to end in so much death"

"Who died?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"On 31st October 1981, James and Lily Potter died protecting Harry. But in this time I have been informed that she died in childbirth, already the future has changed. Anyway Harry was sent to live with the Dursleys and they treated him like dirt on their shoes. They abused him, until he met me he had never been hugged" she started crying and Harry reached out to her and Hermione picked him up and hugged him to her and everyone stared shocked as the one year old comforted her. "So many more died. Then the second war started for me and Harry when we were eleven. I'll go into detail about our time at Hogwarts at the meeting. But Sirius was arrested for murder like he was in this time, except he was in Azkaban for twelve years instead of a week, and for the murders of Lily and James, as well as Pettigrew and the muggles. Harry and I saved you and helped you whilst you were on the run. You moved to Grimmauld Place because you offered it to The Order for a meeting place. We became closer, a family. Then you died, Bellatrix killed you" she cried. "Dumbledore died, Madeye Moody died, Remus died, Snape died, Percy and Fred Weasley died and Harry died" they were staring at her shocked. She took deep breaths and calmed down. "That's why I'm here. To prevent the second war and save so many lives. I don't know where Voldemort is, but I know how to kill him. And this time Harry will not be the one to do it, I don't care what the prophecy given by that crackpot Trelawney states. I will protect him from that. I will kill Voldemort" she spoke resolutely.

Hermione felt Harry playing with her necklace and she remembered.

She sat him on her lap and pulled off his necklace and placed it over his head. She then pulled her necklace out from under her top and fastened the pendants together and they glowed a mixture of silver and gold. The glow grew until they couldn't see anything and then it disappeared. They looked at Hermione to see that all her bruises and cuts had been healed.

"What was that?" James whispered.

"That was the magic of the God of the Sun and the Goddess of the Moon. When Harry and I completed our sibling bond, we were given these necklaces. Harry is the sun and I am the moon. In some legends the sun and the moon were lovers, but in others they were siblings. We have been blessed by the Gods" they stared at her. "Harry and I have a lot in common, but we have a lot of differences too. He is at his strongest during the day when the sun is up and I am at my strongest during the night when the moon is out. But we are at our strongest when we are together. Over time Harry and I developed certain traits. For instance, I could feel when he needed me and the same for him. We could tell what each other was thinking with just one look, we had one word conversations and knew exactly what we were talking about and we could kind of sense what the other was feeling. It's difficult to explain. Harry and I are obviously not related, but this bond binds us" she spoke.

"He is my brother but not of blood, he does things I wish I could. We've been like siblings since the day we met, and I will forever be in his debt. So take his life and meld it with mine, so together we may share a blood line. Now siblings we are and siblings we will be, together we will stand for all eternity" they stared at her as she recited the spell. "Siblings we are and siblings we will stand. Together we will protect the people and the land" she looked up at them. "And that's what we did. We protected as many as we could and we won the war, but Harry died and he wasn't supposed to" they could tell it was hard on her to talk about her past.

"I will call an Order meeting for one hour's time" Dumbledore spoke.

"Only those that you can trust with your life, the information I have cannot get out" he nodded and then left the room.

"How close were we?" Sirius asked seemingly less guarded with her and she hoped it meant he would trust her like he did in her time.

Hermione started laughing and she handed Harry to James and she dug around in her bag. She pulled out a picture of Sirius, Harry and her at Christmas time fifth year. Sirius' skin had been died blue and Harry had pink hair. Hermione however had bunny ears and a bunny nose and Sirius started laughing.

"I can't believe that's Harry" Sirius said and he handed the picture to James and his eyes widened.

"Wow, not many people get to see a picture of their child grown up, whilst said child is currently trying to eat his fist" Hermione chuckled and the photo was passed to Remus. She then pulled at the Marauder's map.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good" she said and their mouths dropped open.

"You have the map? We lost it" James said in disbelief and she grinned.

"Fred and George Weasley found it in Filch's office their first year. They are twin pranksters and were born on April fool's day. Don't worry, they put it to good use. They are my generation Marauders and I dare say they are better than you lot"

James and Sirius gasped and Remus chuckled. "Take that back"

"Can't, Sirius was the one that said they were better than you. They gave it to Harry our third year because they had memorised it" she grinned. "You wanted to know how close we were, have a look" she handed him the map and they looked at the names.

 _Moony, Padfoot, Prongs, Vixen and Stagger_

"Who are Vixen and Stagger?" Remus asked confused.

"Sirius taught us to become animagi, illegally of course. And he chose our nicknames and put us on the map. Said Harry and I were a part of the Marauders" they grinned.

"If there's ever a reason to trust you, it's right there" James said and she laughed. "Which are you?"

She shrugged and checked the door was closed. She stood up and slowly she bent down and before her hands touched the floor she transformed.

"Brilliant" they said in awe.

Stood in front of them was a brown fox with a white streak down its back and a white stomach. Its fur was soft and a mix of two shades of brown and her large eyes were a chocolate brown.

"It's so adorable" Sirius said. Hermione growled at him and then went to bite him when he reached his hand out to her. He yelped and pulled his hand back quickly, cradling it to his chest protectively and James and Remus were laughing hysterically and Harry was giggling and clapping.

She transformed back and grinned at them.

"You were saying?" she smirked and he scowled at her.

"What does the fox represent?" Remus asked curiously.

"Depends on which folklore you look at, but if I combine them all: wisdom and intelligence, focus, determination, pranking, protection, cunning, adaptability, passion and desire. In Chinese lore it's said that the fox is a rare sign of a spirit trying to communicate from the afterlife. In Celtic lore it's said that the fox is a guide and they relied on their wisdom. In Japanese lore it's said that the fox is a symbol of rain and the messenger of the Inari, the rice god. It's also thought to be protection from evil. And in Native American lore some believe that the fox is a wise and noble messenger and others believe that it is a trickster that leads people to their demise"

They stared at her and she chuckled.

"To be an animagus you need to be able to cast a patronus. Who taught you?" James asked and Hermione smiled.

"Harry learned to cast his patronus when he was thirteen and Remus taught him" they stared shocked. "I learned when I was fourteen and Harry helped me a little, but I mainly taught myself. Although my birthday's in September, but I was in my third year with Harry"

"What was Harry's patronus?"

"Harry's patronus was a stag and so was his animagus form" they stared at James and laughed at his expression of disbelief. "That may change though, since he was spiritually in tuned with you because you died in my world. So when he learns to cast his patronus it may be different"

"You saved me" James said randomly. "I remember. You saved me. You cast a shield over mine. It was far stronger than mine"

"It wasn't the first time. When the Avada was sent your way, you tripped over and it missed you. You tripped because I cast the Impedimenta on you. When I was sent back I was told that I could save lives. If those I tried to save died, they were destined to die and there was nothing I could do about it. If those I saved survived, they died without a purpose and were never supposed to die" she said. "Anyway, Sirius called Harry, Stagger because when he first transformed he couldn't stand up without falling over" they laughed. "Took him forty minutes to stand up, and even longer to figure out how to walk on four legs and without getting his antlers caught in the door frame" they laughed again.

"Do you have any more photos?" James asked.

"Only a bag full. We better get going. You'll have to apparate since I don't know where the meeting place is in this time frame" they all stood and Hermione put her jacket back on. "Do you mind bringing Harry? My magic's unstable at the minute and he helps to calm it"

"Honestly?" James asked.

"Yes, the moon is out, like I said it's when I'm at my strongest. Plus, Harry shouldn't have many magical outbursts now. I thought our bond had died when he did, but it followed me here and connected me to baby Harry" Hermione said. "Guess we really are bonded for eternity, even if he is eighteen years younger than me"

"Moody won't like it" Sirius spoke.

"Madeye is a paranoid old fool. You should've seen the arguments he and I got into. In fact you probably will. They never failed to entertain you. I remember you once conjuring some popcorn" they laughed.

"Well then I can't wait" Sirius said.

"Oh, I have plenty of hexes that you've never seen before. Mainly because they haven't been invented yet, but I can still cast them as long as I don't take credit for inventing them"

"Now I can't wait" Remus said and she grinned at him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Order of the Phoenix**

* * *

AN: Guest - Hermione will tell them about the Wolfsbane potion, don't worry.

SereniteRose – Hermione is a powerful and incredibly intelligent witch in canon regardless. But yes, she will be powerful, especially with the sibling bond and being blessed by the Moon Goddess.

Andree 07 – I'll explain how Harry survived in later chapters.

AGirlLostInTime – Azkaban now has anti-animagi wards so he can't escape that way, we'll have to see it he finds another way or if he stays where he belongs.

* * *

 **Unknown Location - Sunday 8th November 1981**

Hermione landed on her feet and slipped and fell with a yelp. Four pairs of eyes looked down at her and they started laughing. Hermione grumbled and got to her feet and she brushed herself down.

"You're a right lousy apparator, I had originally thought you'd just gotten worse over the years, but it turns out you got better" she said to Sirius and he scowled at her whilst the others laughed.

"Yeah? Well..." he trailed off because he couldn't think of a comeback and it caused the others to laugh louder and Hermione to smirk.

"Let's go inside" Remus said chuckling and they walked forward and Remus tapped his wand against the door in a sequence and it swung open.

They stepped inside and they led her to a large empty room, the only thing it had was a large wooden table and chairs in the centre of the room that had white walls and dark wooden flooring. The room was void of any windows, but several different spells had been cast to light the room so she could see perfectly.

There were several people sat around the table, some that she didn't recognise and several that she did. Arthur and Molly Weasley, Kingsley, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and Moody. She noticed Mundungus Fletcher and she glared at him which Dumbledore noticed and he raised an eyebrow in response. And she noticed two red headed twins sat opposite Molly and Arthur and her breath caught. It was obvious who they were, Fabian and Gideon Prewett. Her being sent back had saved the lives of Molly's brothers and her children would have uncles.

When they entered several people looked up curiously at Hermione and Arthur smiled at her whilst others like Moody, looked less than pleased. McGonagall and Snape didn't bat an eyelash, but she expected that was because Dumbledore had told them she was from the future.

"Now that everyone is here, we can get started" Dumbledore said.

"Why did you bring the kid?" Moody said gruffly to James as he took an empty seat at the left side of the table with Harry on his knee, and Remus next to him and Sirius sat on the right side of the table, the closest chair to the end of the table were Hermione sat opposite Dumbledore.

"Because I need him here, Moody" Hermione spoke.

Moody's attention snapped to her. "How the hell do you know who I am? Are we sure she isn't a spy for the other side? I bet she's a Death Eater. Who are you? Why are you here? Plan to double cross us? What has the kid got to do with you? He saved the world and destroyed You Know Who. Want to kidnap him and kill him for revenge?"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Well if you let me get a word in edge ways I would assume I could explain who I am and why I am here, you paranoid muppet" she said rolling her eyes and she heard chuckles.

"I like her" the Prewett twins said and she smiled at them.

"Miss Granger has very serious news to share with us regarding Voldemort" people flinched. "I can assure you, Miss Granger, is a very valuable asset to us and if the other side were to ever get a hold of her... it would mean the end to us all" Dumbledore spoke gravely getting the attention of everyone in the room. "She is completely trust worthy for many reasons, which she will explain"

"Thank you, Professor" Hermione spoke and then she stood up. "What I am about to say is confusing so I am just going to blurt it out. My name is Hermione Granger and I was born September 19th 1979. I am from the future" everyone stared at her before the room burst into uproar as everyone yelled at Dumbledore.

Hermione sighed and sat down and Remus, James and Sirius chuckled at her.

Dumbledore silenced the room and then nodded to Hermione and she stood up again.

"You want proof that I am from the future?" she dug into her bag and pulled out the time turner Lily gave her and she held it up for everyone to see and their eyes widened when they saw the time turner. They were extremely rare. "Professor Dumbledore, does this look familiar?" she asked and then he put his hand over his robes and pulled out the time turner he had around his neck and removed it for everyone to see and they gasped.

"This is Professor Dumbledore's time turner. In the future he gave it to me. That is how there is now two of them. Professor Dumbledore, do you trust me?"

He had no reason to doubt her. "Yes" he spoke immediately.

"Us too" Remus, Sirius and James spoke.

"I trust her too" Arthur spoke and Hermione smiled at him and Molly looked at him strangely.

"There is also another piece of evidence that Miss Granger is telling the truth" Dumbledore spoke and everyone looked to him. "The Hogwarts student records show that there is two Hermione Grangers registered" they started at him. "One of them is set to start Hogwarts in 1991 and the other went missing in 1997, after her sixth year" Hermione flinched at the reminder of her sixth year, the year Dumbledore died.

"Impossible" Moody barked.

"You are seriously asking to be hexed" Hermione rubbed her forehead. Moody stood up and pulled his wand, but Hermione was already backing away from the table with her wand in hand and everyone stared in disbelief at what was about to happen.

"Stupefy" Moody spoke and Hermione ducked. "Incarcerous" Hermione sighed and moved to the side. "Petrificus Totalus"

Hermione sighed. "Protego Totalum" she said bored and her powerful shield covered her and the spell back fired and hit Moody before he could block it and everyone gasped in shock as he fell to the ground.

Hermione shook her head and pointed her wand at Moody. "Enervate" she said and he sat up glaring at her and climbing clumsily to his feet. "Are you quite finished? This is getting embarrassing" Sirius, Remus and James laughed.

"Impedimenta" he said and she side stepped. "Flipendo" it missed her and she could tell he was getting annoyed. "Diffindo" the spell caught her arm and blood started trickling down her arm.

Hermione took off her tracksuit jacket and threw it onto her chair and they could see the deep cut on her arm and Moody looked smug. She simply raised an eyebrow at him.

"Incendio" Moody said and Hermione blocked it.

"I'm tired and hungry. I haven't eaten in at least eleven days and I have recently come out of an eight day coma. And you're dangerously pissing me off" she spoke and everyone looked at her shocked at her admission. "So I'm ending this now" Moody laughed. "Expellimelius" she said and she set his robes on fire. Whilst he was busy putting the flames out, she disarmed him. "Expelliarmus" she caught his wand without moving. "Avis, Oppungo" she said.

The flock of birds she conjured attacked Moody as several members in the room laughed in disbelief -the loudest being the Marauders and the Prewett twins who stared at her in awe- and she saw McGonagall's and Snape's mouths twitch whilst Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with amusement. She cancelled the spell.

"Levicorpus" she said and he was dangled upside down from the ceiling by his ankles.

Snape quickly stood up and everyone looked at him in shock, they had never seen him move so fast. Hermione looked at him knowingly and she sent a silencing charm at Moody who was threatening her and yelling obscenities.

"How do you know that spell?" he asked quickly. He hadn't changed much either, aside from a few less wrinkles he still looked like the bat of the dungeons from her time.

"The Half-blood Prince" she said simply and his eyes widened whilst people looked between the two confused. He stared at her before sitting down slowly and turning to look at Dumbledore with a nod.

She cancelled the charms on Moody and slowly levitated him to the floor. When he was about to speak she cast one last spell.

"Batius Bogium" she said and balls of snot shot out of his nose and grew wings and they started attacking Moody. This had a louder reaction than when she attacked him with the birds and the Prewett twins and Marauders were creased laughing, holding their sides and Harry giggled and pointed at Moody and clapped his hands excitedly.

She cancelled the spell after a few minutes and he leaned against the wall getting his breath back.

"That is the best thing I have ever seen" Sirius said loudly and she laughed at him.

"I know you mentioned you had some speciality hexes up your sleeve, but that was brilliant" James commented.

"Some of those spells haven't been invented yet. Won't be for another six years I think. More proof that I am from the future" she glared at Moody and motioned for him to sit at the table, he glared at her but sat back down.

"I will prove to you that I am not a dark magic practitioner" she said and then she pointed her wand. All that she could see in her mind was the world she came from, the injured and the dead. But she pushed it aside and looked at baby Harry and the people around the table that had survived. "Expecto Patronum" her blue-silver fox shot out of the tip of her wand and ran around the room before landing on the table for everyone to look at. "As you know Moody, dark magic practitioners are not able to cast a patronus. Instead maggots would be conjured and they would devour the spell caster. Proof that I am not evil" she lifted her left arm up and she heard gasps and people looked at her sadly when she showed them her mudblood scar. "I am a muggleborn"

"What's the matter Moody?" Sirius spoke amused. "Fox got your tongue?" James and Remus chuckled. The fox disappeared.

"I am trained in defensive and offensive magic and I have been since I was eleven years old. That's when the war started"

"The war is over" Molly spoke for the first time, looking at her.

"No, it's not. Voldemort is not dead, he is just defeated" uproar ensured once more. Hermione cast a charm that the twins had taught her and fireworks erupted from her wand and everyone stopped yelling and turned to look at her.

"Thank you Fred and George Weasley" Hermione muttered and Molly's eyes widened.

"You know my sons?" she asked.

Hermione nodded. "In my time I grew up with them at Hogwarts. Percy was there too, so was Ronald and Ginny. Harry Potter, Ronald and I were best friends, we were inseparable. People called us 'The Golden Trio' much to our annoyance" she said annoyed. "Now as I was saying. Voldemort is not dead. In 1991 he returns. Harry, Ronald and I fought him for seven years. On Saturday the 2nd of May 1998, the Final Battle takes place at Hogwarts. We won the war and Voldemort died. Many lives were lost that day, including... including..." her eyes started watering and a tear leaked down her face. She gripped her necklace and everyone stared at her as she almost seemed to glow a silver colour.

"Including who?" Molly asked quickly.

"Fred and Percy" she gasped. "Snape, Remus, Harry, Seamus Finnegan, Colin Creevey, Luna Lovegood and many more"

Harry held his arms out and wiggled. "Mimi" he called. James lifted him and Hermione took him and hugged him tightly to her and the silver glow that surrounded her now had a mixture of gold in it, before it disappeared and the cut on Hermione's arm healed and they stared shocked.

"What was that?" Kingsley asked.

"You'll find out later" she answered. "Anyway, that is why I am here. To stop the second war from happening and to save lives. My presence here has already saved lives. In my time both James and Lily potter died on Halloween this year. Fabian and Gideon Prewett" they looked at her. "You were supposed to die two months ago" Molly gasped. "Sirius was put in Azkaban for something he didn't do and escaped twelve years later. Cedric Diggory, a Hogwarts student died my fourth year. He was murdered by Voldemort and that was when he returned to full power. The Ministry refused to admit Voldemort was back and so many people died because of it. Then the war officially began the end of my fifth year. Sirius died my fifth year. Professor Dumbledore died my sixth year. Moody died the summer before my seventh year. The Final Battle had only been over a matter of hours and then I was sent here" everyone stared at her sadly and shocked, especially when they noticed the blood on her clothing. And then she gasped loudly and they jumped. "Frank and Alice Longbottom? How are they? Did Bellabitch get to them?" Sirius couldn't help snort. "She tortured them to insanity in my world, Neville was raised by his grandmother"

"They are well, Miss Granger" Dumbledore assured her and she sighed in relief. "They are currently being treated in St Mungos, they are due to be released within the next week" Hermione nodded.

"Now, it's time I show you what happened in my world so that I can prevent it from ever happening. But let's get one thing perfectly clear" she said calmly. "Harry Potter, is not 'the boy who lived' nor is he 'the saviour of the wizarding world'. He is a little boy who was born in times of war. If anyone treats him any differently I will show you just what I learned after seven years of fighting a war" she glared at everyone and they nodded quickly.

"Let's start with my first year. Some memories you will see may not be mine, but I will have them because I was showed them in a pensive by Harry Potter" they nodded.

"We don't have a pensive big enough" Arthur said.

"We don't need one, I created a spell. Just need something to put my memories in" she sat Harry on the table and dug around in her bag and she pulled out a bowl from when she was on the run. She thought about what they needed to see and then pointed her wand at her head and pulled the memories from her head and placed them in the bowl. When she was done she pointed her wand in the air.

"Proiectura Leporem" she said and a large screen much like one you would see at the cinema appeared in the middle of the table and everyone could see perfectly.

"Are we ready?" she asked and they nodded. "You are about to see the world I came from, the world I grew up in. I warn you, you will see people that you know and that you love die. There is a lot of violence, duels and bloodshed. This is not to be taken lightly" she said. "For future record" Hermione spoke. "All seven Weasley children were Gryffindors in my time and that likely won't change" Molly and Arthur smiled. "Harry and myself were also Gryffindors. I thought I would start off with something light" she said and then she flicked her wand and sat down and the first memory came onto the screen.

 _First year – 1991_

James' eyes widened and Molly gasped when they saw the first look at their sons.

 _"_ _Fred, you next" Molly said._

 _"I'm not Fred, I'm George. Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"_

 _"Sorry, George, dear"_

 _"Only joking, I am Fred"_

They chuckled. The Prewett twins grinned at each other.

 _"_ _Can't stay long, mother" Percy said. "I'm up front; the prefects have got two compartments to themselves"_

 _"Oh, are you a prefect Percy? You should have said something, we had no idea"_

 _"Hang on; I think I remember him saying something about it" the other twin spoke._

 _"Once -"_

 _"- Or twice -"_

 _"- A minute -"_

 _"- All summer -"_

 _"Oh, shut up" Percy said._

They laughed. The memory changed.

 _"_ _It's Wingardium Leviosa, not Leviosar. Honestly, she's such a nightmare. No wonder she hasn't got any friends" an eleven year old Ronald Weasley spoke._

 _They watched as Hermione barged past them with her head down._

"Look at all that hair" Sirius commented amazed and Hermione punched him in the arm and Remus and James chuckled whilst Sirius scowled.

 _"_ _I think she heard you" Harry said and Ron shrugged._

 _In the great hall..._

 _"_ _TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON! JUST THOUGHT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW" Quirrell fainted and panic ensured. Dumbledore quieted everyone and sent them on their way. Before they knew it Harry and Ron were running into the girl's bathroom and Hermione was screaming as a sink was on her leg and a troll was advancing on her with its club in hand._

 _They tried to get its attention and when they did the troll swung its club at them. Harry jumped and caught the club and somehow landed on the troll's shoulders clinging on for dear life. His wand was shoved up the troll's nose and when he went to swing the club again Ron pointed his wand._

 _"_ _Wingardium Leviosa" he said and the club hung in the air before it dropped and hit the troll on its head. The troll fell forward and Harry rolled off and landed on his back. Ron helped him stand up and then they went to Hermione._

"And The Golden Trio was born" Hermione commented and everyone stared at her in shock. "What?" she asked noticing the looks they were sending her way. "That's nothing. I actually think that's the tamest memory I have of us being in danger" she snorted.

The memory changed.

 _Hermione, Harry and Ron were running down a corridor being chased by Filch._

 _"_ _I told you it was a trap" Hermione said. "But you just couldn't back down could you?"_

 _"_ _It was Malfoy" Ron argued._

 _"_ _Was it?" she said sarcastically._

 _"_ _Next time I'll listen to you" Harry said._

 _"_ _No, you won't" Hermione muttered and when they reached a door she cast an unlocking charm and they jumped inside the room and shut the door._

 _It wasn't long before they noticed the three headed dog in the room and Hermione and Harry both slapped a hand over Ron's mouth to stop him from screaming._

They couldn't help chuckle at the sight, despite the danger the three were in.

 _They snuck out of the room._

 _"_ _What the hell was that?" Ron shrieked as they entered the common room._

 _"_ _A three headed dog" Hermione said slowly. "I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed - or worse, expelled. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to bed"_ _she stormed out of the room._

 _"_ _She needs to get her priorities straight" Ron said._

Everyone couldn't help laugh at him.

The memory changed to Harry and Draco Malfoy in the Forbidden Forest. This was Harry's memory he had shared with her.

 _"_ _You wait until my father hears about this. This is servants stuff" Malfoy said as they walked through the forest with Fang._

 _"_ _If I didn't know better, Draco, I would say you're scared" Harry taunted._

 _Malfoy scoffed. "Scared Potter" he stopped. "Did you hear that?" he asked quickly and turning in a circle. They continued walking until they came across a unicorn being fed on by something in a cloak._

 _Harry grunted and pressed his hand against his scar and Malfoy ran away screaming with Fang. The figure advanced on Harry who tripped over a branch. A centaur came to the rescue and frightened away the figure and he turned around to face Harry who stood up._

 _"_ _Harry Potter, you must leave. You are known to many creatures here. The forest is not safe at this time, especially for you" the centaur spoke._

 _"_ _But what was that thing you saved me from?" Harry asked._

 _"_ _A monstrous creature. It is a terrible crime to slay a unicorn. Drinking the blood of a unicorn will keep you alive even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You've slain something so pure, that the moment the blood touches your lips you will have a half life. A cursed life"_

 _"_ _But who would choose such as life?"_

 _"_ _Can you think of no one?"_

 _"_ _Do you mean to say that that thing that killed the unicorn, that was drinking its blood, that was Voldemort?"_

The memory ended.

"That doesn't prove anything" Moody muttered and Hermione rolled her eyes.

 _Harry, Hermione and Ron had just gotten past the three headed dog and Hermione was in the process of the saving a panicking Ron from being squeezed to death by Devil's Snare._

 _"_ _Lumos Solem" she called loudly and a blinding beam of light erupted from the tip of her wand. The overgrown plant squealed and unwrapped itself from Ron and he fell to the ground below._

 _"_ _Lucky I didn't panic" he said and Hermione and Harry looked at each other disbelievingly._

The Marauders started laughing.

 _Next they watched Harry's flying skills, Ron's wizarding chess skills._ Molly gasped when Ron sacrificed himself. _That was followed by Hermione solving the potions riddle. Last up was Harry and he entered the room. Everyone was shocked to see Quirrell standing in the room._

 _They watched as he taunted Harry, as he removed the fabric from his head and turned around to show Voldemort on the back of his head. They watched the scene play out, the empty promises, the fighting, the struggling and Quirrell crumbling into ash with Harry winning, but collapsing on the ground with the stone in his hand._

"Anything else you would like to add Moody?" Hermione said with her eyebrow raised.

"It still does not prove anything" he said gruffly.

"I have another six years. The first year was the least traumatic" she said. "Next up is my second year"

 _Second year – 1992_

 _"_ _Well at least no one in Gryffindor had to buy their way onto the team, they got on due to pure talent" a thirteen year old Hermione Granger said._

 _"_ _No one asked for your opinion you filthy little mudblood"_ they could see the look on her face at Draco Malfoy's words. _They watched as Harry tried to lunge for Malfoy and Ron's curse backfired on himself._

 _"_ _The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir beware" was written in blood and next to it was Mrs Norris, Filch's cat._

"It's real?" Snape, McGonagall and Dumbledore spoke quickly.

"It is. I know where it is and I know how to open it"

 _The next memory showed Sir Nick and Justin Finch-Fletchley petrified. The memory after that showed Hermione researching in the library looking for answers. They watched as her face lit up and she ran out of the library before she was petrified._

Everyone stared at her.

"You were petrified?" Remus said in disbelief.

"I was. For two months"

"What's it like?"

"Your worst nightmare. You cannot move, sleep, blink, speak or even breathe. But you can still hear everyone around you. It's like you're stuck, frozen, whilst the world is moving around you. I could hear my friends begging me to get better and promising to find out what the creature was. I could hear Professors talking about me and the other students, saying they didn't know how our bodies would cope when we were broken out of our petrified state. They didn't know if we would survive" they stared at her horrified.

The last memory showed was from Harry's point of view.

 _Ginny Weasley was on the floor, lifeless, cold and pale._ Several people gasped.

 _"_ _She won't wake up"_

 _"_ _Tom, Tom Riddle" Harry spoke looking up from his place kneeled beside Ginny._ Dumbledore's eyes widened and he looked at Hermione. _"What do you mean she won't wake? She's not..."_

 _"_ _She's still alive" Riddle spoke. "But only just"_

 _"_ _Are you a ghost?"_

 _"_ _A memory, preserved in a diary for fifty years"_

 _"_ _She's as cold as ice" Harry spoke and he didn't notice Riddle bending down and picking up his wand. "You've got to help me Tom; there's a basilisk"_

 _"_ _It won't come until it's called"_

 _Harry noticed that Tom had his wand and stood up._

 _"_ _Give me my wand Tom"_

 _"_ _You won't be needing it"_

 _"_ _We've got to go; we've got to save her"_

 _"_ _I'm afraid I can't do that Harry. You see, as poor Ginny grows weaker, I grow stronger. Yes Harry, it was Ginny Weasley who opened The Chamber of Secrets. It was Ginny who set the basilisk on the mudbloods and Flich's cat. Ginny who wrote the threatening messages on the walls"_

 _"_ _Why?"_

 _"_ _Because I told her to. You'll find that I can be very persuasive. Not that she knew what she was doing, she was... shall we say in a kind of trance? Still the power of the diary began to scare her. She tried to dispose of it in the girl's bathroom. But then who should find it but you? The very person I was anxious to meet"_

 _"_ _And why did you want to meet me?"_

 _"_ _I knew I had to talk to you, meet you if I could. So I decided to show you the capture of that brainless oaf Hagrid. To gain your trust"_

 _"_ _Hagrid is my friend" Harry said furiously. "And you framed him didn't you?"_

 _"_ _It was my word against Hagrid's. Only Dumbledore seemed to think he was innocent"_

 _"_ _But Dumbledore saw right through you" Harry smirked._

 _"_ _He certainly kept an annoyingly close watch on me after that. I knew it wouldn't be safe to open The Chamber again whilst I was still in school. So I decided to leave behind a diary, preserving my sixteen year old self in its pages so that one day I would be able to lead another to finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work"_

 _"_ _Well you haven't finished it this time. In a few hours the mandrake draught will be ready and everyone that was petrified will be alright again"_

 _"_ _Haven't I told you? Killing mudbloods doesn't matter to me anymore, for many months now my new target has been you. How is it that a baby with no extraordinary magical talent was able to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar whilst Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"_

 _"_ _Why do you care how I escaped? Voldemort was after your time"_

 _"_ _Voldemort is my past, present and future" he raised Harry's wand and written 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' in the air. And with a flick of the wand it changed to say 'I am Lord Voldemort'._

 _"_ _You're the Heir of Slytherin" Harry said quietly._

 _"_ _I fashioned myself a new name. One that would instil fear when I became the greatest sorcerer in the world"_

 _"_ _Albus Dumbledore is the greatest sorcerer in the world" Harry yelled furiously._

 _"_ _Dumbledore has been driven out of this castle at the mere memory of me"_

 _"_ _He'll never be gone. Not as long as those that remain are loyal to him"_

 _That's when the basilisk was summoned and Harry ran for his life throughout the chamber. Fawks dropped the sorting hat into his hand and Harry removed the Sword of Gryffindor. He was injured, but he climbed to the very top of the large statue and when the basilisk lunged for him, Harry sunk the sword straight through the roof of the basilisk's mouth killing it._

 _He made his way back to Ginny and removed the basilisk fang that was stuck in his arm and with it he stabbed it straight through the centre of the diary effectively killing Riddle and saving Ginny's life._

The memory ended.

"That was one big fucking snake"

"Sirius Black" McGonagall and Molly scolded and Hermione chuckled whilst the others sniggered.

"Want more proof?" she asked Moody smirking.

"How was he sixteen?" McGonagall asked bemused. She had gone to school with Riddle and she knew what he looked like at that age.

"That comes later in the story. You think the Voldemort of this time frame was bad, by my fifth year he wasn't even human. Next is third year"

 _Third year – 1993_

 _They watched as Hermione was given the time turner by Dumbledore and as she used it to get from class to class without people noticing. They watched as news spread that Sirius Black had been spotted. They watched as dementors attacked Harry and as Remus was the new defence against the dark arts professor._ And Sirius and James teased him over it.

 _They watched as Sirius Black broke into the castle and finally as Ron was dragged off by a black dog and Harry and Hermione were thrown around like rag dolls by the Whomping Willow._

"Look how old we got" Sirius said with a scrunched up face and Hermione laughed.

"I imagine being in Azkaban for twelve years would do that to you" Hermione spoke.

 _They watched as Snape, Sirius and Remus had their standoff and as Hermione intervened. Pettigrew was revealed to be Scabbers._

"That's why you wanted the rat and gave Percy a new one" Arthur spoke looking at her surprised. "And how you knew to give Charlie a book on dragons"

"Yes, it is. I spent a lot of time at the Burrow, as did Harry. You treated us like your own children. We spent more time with you than we did our own families, you were like our parents and your children our siblings" Hermione spoke softly. "Knowing what I did from the future, the minute I woke up in the hospital I left and dragged the Minister to your home. I was not going to let that vile creature anywhere near you or your children" she said and Molly and Arthur looked at her in awe; and the Prewett twins something else that she couldn't quite decipher.

 _Everything went downhill at that moment; when they were back on ground, Pettigrew escaped because of the full moon._

Remus' eyes widened and Hermione skipped the memory so no one saw anything and Harry woke up in the hospital.

 _Hermione informed Harry of Sirius' sentencing of the dementor's kiss and Dumbledore had given Hermione some 'advice' and she immediately set to work with a confused Harry. They travelled back in time, saved Buckbeak and when the time came, Sirius._

 _"_ _You're dying, the both of you" a fourteen year old Hermione yelled hysterically._

 _That's when Harry ran forward with his wand pointed._

 _"_ _EXPECTO PATRONUM" he yelled and a brilliant blue-silver stag charged at the hundreds of dementors surrounding them._

"Bloody hell" several people muttered and gasped. She looked to see James looking in awe and Hermione smiled.

"Harry will be a very powerful wizard" she spoke.

 _"_ _Bombarda Maxima" Hermione said blowing the door off along with half of the stone wall._

"That's one way to do it" Sirius muttered amused and they chuckled.

 _They watched as Sirius rode off on Buckbeak._

"How old are you?" one of the Prewett twins asked curiously.

"I am supposed to be eighteen, but with the time turner I am actually nineteen" she answered. "Time for fourth year"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Memory Lane**

* * *

AN: Guest – Hermione will share a lot about Harry in her time with them.

Noctis Corvus – If you would like I could add it to my growing list of fanfics I intend to write. I'm not sure how they would meet, but I could play around with some ideas and try and give it a go.

Acacia Cottonwood – This fanfic is Hermione/Marauders based, but like I said to Noctis Corvus, if you would like, I could try and write a Fabian/Hermione/Gideon fanfic and see what I can come up with.

* * *

 **Unknown Location - Sunday 8th November 1981**

"This is the year when Voldemort returned to his full strength" Hermione said and then the memory started.

 _Fourth year – 1994_

 _They watched the world cup and what transpired during the celebrations, they saw Harry, Ron and Hermione get separated as Death Eaters caused chaos and panic. They watched as the dark mark was in the sky and Mr Weasley saved them from being hexed by aurors._

 _They watched as Dumbledore announced the Triwizard Tournament and as the names were drawn including Harry's. They watched as Hermione tutored Harry on the summoning charm and the first task began. They watched Hermione giving Harry the pep talk before he went to his quite possible death and they watched as Harry summoned his broom and flew off with the dragon breaking loose from the chains and taking off after him, and they watched as he returned alive and well and he got the egg._

 _The second task showed Harry's memories. Him noticing that Hermione and Ron were missing and eating the gillyweed. He fell into the water before swimming around until he found four figures tied to the bottom of the lake. He tried to free both Hermione and Ron, but was stopped by one of the merpeople guarding them. Hermione was rescued by Viktor Krum and Harry took Ron. When he realised that no one was coming for the little girl, he rescued her too. He was attacked by grindylows and he sent the other two ahead, until they reached the surface of the water. Later followed by, Harry, who shot out of the water and landed on the decking._

 _The next memory showed the final task and from Harry's point of view. Running through the maze, the blast-ended skrewt and acromantula, the incident with Fleur, Cedric and Viktor and the Triwizard's Cup being a port key._

"You will believe me after this" she said to Moody and he didn't reply to her.

 _The next memory showed Harry and Cedric in a graveyard._

 _"Cedric, get to the cup and get out of here" Harry said through clenched teeth._

 _A figure could be seen walking towards Harry and Cedric and it was carrying what looked to be a small child in a blanket._

 _"Kill the spare" it hissed. A bolt of green light hit Cedric in the chest and he dropped to the floor instantly._

People gasped and stared in horror and they could now see that it was Pettigrew.

 _They watched as Harry was restrained by a large statue, as Pettigrew dropped whatever he was carrying into a large boiling cauldron and as he removed a bone from a grave and he placed it in the cauldron, before cutting off his own hand and putting that in the cauldron. Finally, they watched as he walked up to Harry and cut deep into his skin and Harry yelled loudly in pain and Pettigrew put Harry's blood into the cauldron._

 _The cauldron burst into flames, before turning into smoke which later turned into Voldemort, restored to his full power._

Everyone stared in horror at the sight that met them. Only a few members in the room had seen what Voldemort looked like, Hermione and James being two of them, but James never thought that Voldemort could look any less human than he did at Godric's Hollow, but he was completely wrong.

The Voldemort from Hermione's time looked as if he had been made from candle wax. His eyes were blood red and he had two slits for a nose.

 _Voldemort ran his long skeleton like fingers over his bald head and he began laughing. Voldemort was handed his wand by a whimpering Pettigrew and it was pressed against the dark mark on Pettigrew's left arm, summoning his Death Eaters_

 _"Welcome my friends" Voldemort spoke. "Thirteen years it's been and yet you stand here before me as if it were only yesterday. I confess myself disappointed, not one of you tried to find me" Voldemort furiously pulled the masks off the Death Eaters faces and they fell to the ground in pain. "Crabbe, McNair, Goyle. Not even you, Lucius"_

 _"My Lord, if I had detected any sign or whisper as to your whereabouts, I would've..." Lucius Malfoy began pathetically._

 _"There were signs my slippery friend and more than whispers"_

 _"I assure you my Lord, I have never renounced the old ways. The face I have been obliged to present each day since your absence is my true mask._

 _"I returned my Lord" Pettigrew said rather pitifully._

 _"You returned out of fear, not loyalty. Though you have proven to be useful these last few months"_

Their eyes bulged when Voldemort waved his wand and Pettigrew's hand grew back silver.

 _Voldemort moved towards Cedric and tutted. "Shame, he was such a handsome boy"_

 _"DON'T TOUCH HIM" Harry snarled._

 _"Ah Harry, I had almost forgotten you were here, standing on the bones of my father. I'd introduce you, but word has it you're almost as famous as me these days. 'The boy who lived'. How lies have fed your legend Harry, should I reveal what really happened that night thirteen years ago? Should I divulge how I truly lost my powers?"_

 _He walked back into the circle of Death Eaters. "It was love. You see when dear, sweet Lily Potter gave her life for her only son, she provided the ultimate protection. I could not touch you. It was old magic; I should've foreseen it but no matter, no matter, because things have changed. I can touch you now Harry Potter"_

 _Harry screamed in pain when Voldemort touched his scar and he began laughing madly._

 _"Astonishing what a few drops of your blood can do eh?" Voldemort said._

 _Harry was released from the restraint the statue had on him and Voldemort ordered Harry to pick up his wand and he was forced to bow to him._

 _Voldemort cast the Cruciatus curse on Harry and he wriggled and writhed in pain as he screamed._

She could see the looks of horror on everyone's faces, particularly James, Remus and Sirius and they stared, not being able to look away from the screen. Hermione looked away though and buried her head against baby Harry who had fallen asleep in her arms. She looked at his peaceful expression and reminded herself that she would not let anything happen to him, not this time. He would be saved from Trelawney's prophecy and she would find a way of getting rid of the Horcrux without sacrificing Harry.

 _"Attaboy Harry, your parent's would be proud. Especially your filthy muggleborn mother" Harry stood up shakily with a fierce glare on his face and a spell was sent his way, forcing him to dive behind a head stone. Harry walked out from behind the head stone and faced Voldemort._

 _"Expelliarmus" he yelled._

 _"Avada Kedavra" Voldemort hissed._

 _The two spells collided creating a large bubble that wrapped around Harry and Voldemort. Then beams of light shot out from the point of collision and they turned into people; Cedric Diggory, Frank Bryce, Bertha Jorkins and James and Lily Potter._

 _They watched as the figures created a distraction, Harry broke the spell, accioed the port key and took Cedric with him._

 _The final memory showed Harry being taken by Moody to the castle._

Hermione noticed Dumbledore frown and she knew he suspected something.

 _They watched as he interrogated Harry. As he revealed details that he shouldn't have known and how Harry questioned him. Moody was becoming unhinged and rambling as he searched around his office and kept coming up with empty flasks and his face started bubbling as he advanced on Harry._

 _He was thrown back against a wall when McGonagall, Snape and Dumbledore barged into the room and Snape retrieved Veritaserum and it was administered to Moody. Moody was questioned and he revealed that he was the one to put Harry's name in the goblet, as well as being responsible for the other things that had occurred that year. They watched as he turned back into Barty Crouch Junior and the real Moody was rescued._

"What happened to constant vigilance?" Hermione muttered, but people heard and they couldn't help sniggering. "As you can see, Barty Crouch Junior is a Death Eater and he will not get away with his crimes. I will make a list of known Death Eaters and they can be incarcerated"

"How did no one know?" Molly asked.

"Barty Crouch was the man that put Sirius in Azkaban without a trial, he is Junior's father and he helped sneak him out of Azkaban after he was revealed to be a Death Eater. His wife was on the verge of death. They visited Junior in Azkaban and used poly juice potion. Crouch took Junior home with him as he was poly juiced as his wife, and his wife died in Azkaban poly juiced as her son. It was kept secret for years, only Winky the house elf knew and Junior escaped during the chaos of the world cup" Hermione explained. She then looked at Dumbledore. "It's time for that thing we discussed" she said to Dumbledore cryptically and he nodded in understanding.

Several people were asked to leave, they looked at him annoyed but they went on their way, not arguing with the founder of The Order.

Those left were Hermione, James, Sirius, Remus, Kingsley, Gideon and Fabian, Molly, Arthur, McGonagall, Snape, Dumbledore and Mundungus.

"Not him" Hermione said nodding to Mundungus.

"I assure you Miss Granger, he can be trusted"

"And I assure you Professor Dumbledore he cannot" she said giving him a look that dared him to argue with her. Everyone watched in shock as Dumbledore asked Mundungus to leave. "Right, onto fifth year" Hermione spoke when Mundungus was clear of the room.

 _Fifth year – 1995_

 _The memory showed from Harry's point of view as he was attacked by a dementor and as he was put on trial at the Ministry and they tried to expel him._

 _The watched as Umbridge slowly started taking over the school and as she used a blood quill on Harry and taught only theory defence against the dark arts._

Which seriously pissed several people off.

 _They watched as Harry and Hermione started the D.A and as they taught both simple and complex magic to students older and younger than them. They watched as the D.A was discovered and as Dumbledore left Hogwarts with Umbridge being made headmistress and every one had to follow her ridiculous rules._

The next memory Hermione decided to show for some fun.

 _Fred and George Weasley had set of a portable swamp in the castle, barged in on a practice OWL exam and set off fireworks, including the dragon that chased Umbridge out of the room. After giving Umbridge some lip, they left the castle with students cheering._

"Okay, I admit it, they are better than us" Sirius said laughing along with Remus, James and the Prewett twins who looked proud. "Or will be" he added and Hermione chuckled.

 _The next memory showed Harry in pain and shouting that Sirius was being tortured. They watched as a distraction was made and they snuck into Umbridge's office. Umbridge interrogated Harry and Hermione led her into a trap and Umbridge was carried away by a herd of centaurs._

Everyone looked at her and she plastered an innocent look on her face.

"You set a giant and a herd of centaurs on her?" Sirius said looking both awed and fearful.

"She hurt Harry. She used a blood quill on him. She slapped him and she was going to Crucio him. She was lucky that's all I did. I wanted to feed her to the Giant Squid, but Harry wouldn't let me" she said sounding upset.

"Remind me to never piss you off" James muttered.

"I feel sorry for those in this time frame" Sirius said now amused. "They have no idea what they are dealing with"

 _The memory changed to the battle in the Department of Mysteries. Death Eaters surrounded them and Harry dropped the prophecy. Spells were being shot off and were rebounding. Different colour flashes lit up the dark rooms, and voices yelled over each other casting spells and there were injuries. The cavalry arrived and joined in the duel._

 _Hermione had a few cuts on her and she dealt with the Death Eater in front of her when she heard a certain spell._

Hermione looked away; she knew what was going to happen.

 _"Avada Kedavra" Bellatrix cackled and it hit a distracted Sirius and he fell into the archway behind him._

Everyone looked to Sirius. He looked pale and Hermione felt her heart clench.

 _"NO!" Harry and Hermione yelled and they tried to run forward. Remus caught Harry and Hermione was caught by Kingsley. They struggled to get free, but they did, running after a cackling Bellatrix._

 _Harry made it out of the room before she did because she was distracted. She turned around and only just muttered a "Silencio" in time and she was hit by a blinding purple beam of light in the chest. She was flung backwards across the room, hitting a wall and landing on the floor on her back, with blood covering the front of her clothing and seeping onto the floor._

They stared at her in horror.

"What happened to you? What was that?" Kingsley asked horrified, he couldn't believe that she had survived that, but with her sitting in front of him it was evident that she did.

"No one knows for sure. Dolohov created the curse himself. One thing was certain though, if I hadn't have silenced him in time, the spell would've killed me. I was in a coma for two weeks, I was on bed rest for a month and I had to take ten different potions, three times a day for three months" they stared at her. "Harry was livid. Now, moving on to my sixth year"

 _Sixth year – 1996_

 _The next memory showed the summer before sixth year. This was a mixture between Hermione and Harry's memories._

 _"You ungrateful bitch" Mr Granger yelled and he grabbed Hermione and pushed her against the wall with his hand against her throat and she had tears falling down her face._

Everyone gaped and Hermione refused to look at anyone and held the sleeping Harry tighter against her.

 _"When your mother gives you your dinner you say thank you and you eat it" he snarled._

 _"But it was a week old and bleach had been spilled on it" she gasped out. "It could've killed me"_

 _"And we would've celebrated you freak. I can't believe my daughter has disgraced this family by having polluted blood" Mrs Granger said disgustedly._

 _"There are people that think you are freaks for not having magic" Hermione got out as the grip around her throat had been tightening and she was beginning to get lightheaded._

 _"You will pay for that comment" Mr Granger snarled._

 _He released his grip on her throat and he brought his fist back and punched her across the jaw, causing her to yelp loudly and fall to the floor, catching her head on the corner of the table and knocking off the vases and glass ornaments._

 _That's when the front door was kicked opened and a very pissed Harry Potter entered the house with his wand in hand and a dark look on his face, you could see his magic swirling around him in a faded gold._

 _"Get the fuck away from her" he said coldly._

 _Hermione blinked a few times and slowly sat up groaning and she crawled over to Harry who bent down and helped her up carefully. He examined her for injuries and that's when he noticed the hand marks forming around her throat, the bruise forming on her face and the large cut on her forehead with blood streaming down her face._

 _His eyes darkened and a look appeared on his face that could only be described as pure fury and hatred._

 _"What? She your slut?" Mr Granger spat._

 _"She's my sister" Harry said coldly and he raised his wand. It was dinner and the sun was close to setting and the moon close to rising. Hermione's and Harry's magic was unsettled during these times and they were also together, strengthening their magic._

 _Hermione raised her hand and put it on Harry's. She pushed it down and gripped his hand and their necklaces began to glow. Harry's gold and Hermione's silver._

 _The Grangers took a step back._

 _"Mia, why don't you go and pack your things?" Harry asked, but she knew it wasn't a question._

 _Hermione made her way to her room and packed everything up and shrunk it down. She knew she wouldn't be returning._

 _When she made her way back to Harry, the Grangers were cowering in fear and Harry was glaring at them. They left without another word._

 _"What are you doing here Harry?" Hermione asked as they slowly walked down the street towards an alleyway._

 _"I knew you needed me. I was with Dumbledore. He took me to help him convince Slughorn to come out of retirement and work as the Potions Professor. He thinks Slughorn has information on Voldemort and he wants me to get close to him and get it out of him. He was going to take me back to the Dursleys, but I could feel you needed me and I made him bring me here, he didn't even bat an eyelash"_

 _"Where are we going?"_

 _"I'm not going to the Dursleys, we'll go Grimmauld"_

 _"I don't want anyone asking me why I'm not with my parents and I don't want Kreacher to call me a mudblood" Hermione said sadly. Harry put his arm around her shoulders._

 _"Sirius left Grimmauld to the both of us, Kreacher will not be able to call you anything but Mistress and The Order will keep out of our business. We have a right to be in Grimmauld since it belongs to us. Hey, you can finally take down those creepy house elf and animal heads. And that revolting wallpaper. Maybe you can figure out how to get rid of that old bag"_

 _"You mean Mrs Black's portrait?"_

 _"Of course, how many other old bags do you know?" she laughed at him and then she apparated them to Grimmauld and she glamoured her injuries before anyone saw them._

"If we were like your parent's why didn't we stop that from happening?" Molly asked sadly.

Hermione smiled softly. "You didn't know; the only person that did was Harry. We kept it from everyone. It was something I was ashamed of. I went to school to be ridiculed, hexed, bullied and both verbally and physically assaulted because of my blood, only to go home to be treated the same because I was a witch. My parents said that I was not a real Granger, that I had disgraced them with being born with magic" she spoke and they looked at her sadly, particularly Sirius who had suffered similar treatment from his parents before he escaped.

"That's what you meant?" Sirius spoke and everyone looked at him confused. "You said that in the future I went with you to get a tattoo, you said that you were beaten with a belt for it" she nodded and he looked ill.

"Anyway, I want to discuss something quickly. In a decade's time there will be two Hermione Grangers, because of that I will have my name legally changed to Mia Granger. Granger is a fairly common name in the muggle world so it won't be too suspicious. At some point I will visit my child hood home and put some permanent glamour charms on myself as a child, and then no one will notice the similarities as she ages. I will also leave a little message for the Granger parents making sure Hermione Granger, is never treated the way I was" they nodded at the plan.

"Why Mia?" Remus asked curiously.

"It's what Harry called me. Ron and a few others called me Mione and the twins would call me Hermy when they wanted to annoy me, Sirius called me Kitten until he found out what my patronus was and then he just called me Mia" she shrugged. "Now, back to the memories. I wanted to show you something, Molly and Arthur. I want to show you what the twins did after they left school without their NEWT's. In the future you were furious that they only got three OWL's and didn't graduate. You told them you were disappointed in them and it hurt them. You wouldn't let them be them, you tried to force them into a job at the Ministry but they wanted to open a joke shop. I know for a fact that won't change. I have no doubt that will be the same in this time frame and they will open a joke shop. I want to show you that they are not wasting their lives away. Your sons will be highly successful business men and I want to show you so you can support them" Hermione spoke. "They are highly intelligent, I'm not sure if I could work out some of their spell work"

 _They were shopping in Diagon Alley and went to visit the twins. 'Why are you worrying about You Know Who? You should be worrying about U-No-Poo', was written on posters that surrounded the front of the shop._ Hermione smiled at the memory and she heard sniggers.

 _The shop was bustling and you couldn't even breathe, let alone move. Bright colours, loud noises, blinding lights and over the top, but brilliant displays drew their attention everywhere at once._

"Whoa" several people said in awe and Hermione smiled.

"My boys built that?" Molly whispered.

"Without any help whatsoever. They used to annoy me with testing their products on first years, but they are amazing at what they do, the best. In the future they not only provided laughter and hope in a time of war, they created defence items for The Order to use in battle. If you only knew how many lives they saved with their decoy detonators and shielding hats" Hermione spoke proudly. "You may not agree with what they do, but the world needs them and always will. They will create a legacy that will forever be remembered, that I promise you"

"Thank you for showing us this" Arthur spoke and Hermione smiled and turned back to the screen.

 _The watched as Harry repeatedly accused Malfoy of being a Death Eater, as Katie Bell was cursed by the necklace, as Ron was poisoned and as Death Eaters were led into the castle. They watched the battle play out and finally Dumbledore's death as Snape cast the spell and he fell off the Astronomy Tower._

Surprisingly Dumbledore didn't batter an eyelash at his death, but everyone stood up and pointed their wands at Snape and Hermione carefully stood up with Harry in her arms.

"Sit down" she commanded and everyone looked at her like she was insane. "Now" she said and they could feel her magic beginning to surround them and there was a silver glow around her. They shivered and slowly sat down, but they kept their wands pointed at Snape.

"I will admit that at first I didn't trust Snape, but knowing what I do now, I can assure you he can be trusted"

"He killed Albus" McGonagall almost yelled.

"Under an unbreakable vow, between himself and Professor Dumbledore. He knew that Draco Malfoy was given a mission to kill him, but he couldn't. As much as he's an arsehole, he wasn't a killer. Narcissa Malfoy made an unbreakable vow with Snape to protect Draco with his life, and Dumbledore was already dying for reasons that are not of your concern at the minute. That is why he killed Dumbledore. He is on our side" Hermione said seriously and looking at everyone and they slowly put down their wands.

"Now there is one more year left before I ended up here. Molly and Arthur, please leave and go home to your children" they were going to protest. "No, please leave. I don't want you to see what happens in the final year. Both Percy and Fred died and you should not witness that, nor should you witness the rest of the year from hell"

They reluctantly left and Hermione handed Harry to James.

"Before I show you my memories of the final year of the war, do any of you know what a Horcrux is?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Terrors**

* * *

AN: AdelineMalfoy16 – I haven't decided if Hermione will reveal the truth of the Deathly Hallows yet, but she will tell Sirius about Regulus in coming chapters.

p8efaceharris – I have decided to try and work on a Fabian/Hermione/Gideon story, but it won't be the next one to be uploaded, that will definitely be Hermione/Fred/George because I've already got the first few chapters sorted. I can't honestly say when I will post it because I have other requests for other stories and pairings, but I _will_ post it, I promise.

Guest – Sorry that the chapters are shorter than my other stories. I find it easier to write when I don't try and pack too much into one chapter, I don't feel as overwhelmed and then I can focus.

Guest – I do plan to have Voldemort return earlier than cannon, as to which body he returns in, I'm not sure yet.

AGirlLostInTime – We'll be seeing Lily again, don't worry.

I would just like to point out, you may notice that the 'ritual' for the Horcruxes is the same as the one I used in my other fic, MA1998, I was trying to figure out something that would show them how awful they truly are, but I came up with a blank, so I used the same ritual. Sorry about that.

* * *

 **Unknown Location - Sunday 8th November 1981**

"A what?" several people asked confused.

"A Horcrux" Hermione repeated. "Does anyone know what it is?" they all just stared at her. "I didn't think you would. Professor Dumbledore?"

"I'm sure I've heard the term before, but I can't recall what it is" Dumbledore replied.

"Why didn't you expect anyone to know what it was?" One of the Prewett twins asked, she suspected it was Fabian.

"There is only a handful of people who know what it is. It is a form of dark magic that is so unforgivable that the mention of it has been removed from all books, but three. Even those who practice the darkest of magics don't know what it is and if they did, they would never attempt it or reveal the nature of it to anyone, they would take it to their graves"

"It's that bad?" the other twin asked.

"It's that bad. When I first learned of the nature of a Horcrux, I was ill for a week. It is more unforgivable than the unforgivable curses, they're child's play compared to these" she spoke.

"Are you going to explain what it is?" Moody asked annoyed.

Hermione glared at him. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I not moving fast enough whilst I am trying to prepare you for something that will make you feel disgusted for the rest of your life?" she snapped.

"You're just trying to scare us?" he barked.

"No, I am not, you deranged idiot. You may be an auror that has seen things and has suffered, but I have been involved in a war since I was eleven. I can guarantee that I have seen more and suffered more than you, as you will see shortly. These things are so dark that any mention of it was banished from the wizarding world"

"Then how do you know about it?"

"I was told by Professor Dumbledore and I spent an entire year researching the nature of them and how they can be destroyed" she spoke. "Now I am going to explain what they are, if you keep your pie hole shut" she said glaring at him and she heard sniggers. "I need an unbreakable vow, this must never be mentioned in public or to those that aren't in this room. An unbreakable vow will prevent you from accidentally letting it slip" they weren't happy with that news, but they did do the unbreakable vow.

"Okay then. The first Horcrux was created by Herpo the Foul. As I have stated before, the nature of the Horcrux is so terrifying that they have been kept from the wizarding world and only a handful of people know about them. They are only mentioned in three of the darkest books in the wizarding world, but they only mention them in as little detail as possible. They are created by committing the most supreme act of evil; murder. When you murder someone, particularly with a dark spell; it rips part of your soul off" they looked at her horrified. "You perform a spell and a ritual and afterwards you take that piece of fractured soul and you place it in an object or a living being. If you have a Horcrux you have immortality"

The room was eerily silent as she spoke and they gaped at her.

"Impossible" Moody barked. Hermione sighed and pointed her wand at him sending a non-verbal silencing charm at him.

"You didn't even speak" McGonagall spoke awed.

"I'm a powerful witch, I can do both non-verbal and wandless magic, thanks to the moon" she shrugged.

"Whoa" the Prewett twins whispered and they stared at her with small smiles on their faces and everyone missed the nod they shared.

"Back to the Horcruxes. The detached fragment of the soul will remain the way it was when it was placed in the object or living being. For example, if you create a Horcrux at the age of twenty-two, and you open it when you're one hundred and twenty-five, you will revert back to the age of twenty-two since the broken part of the soul reattaches itself. Next you'd make another Horcrux and the process repeats itself"

"So when Tom appeared in your second year at the age of sixteen, it was because he had made a Horcrux?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes, the diary that Harry destroyed was Voldemort's first Horcrux"

"First?" several people spoke sounding disgusted.

"Yes, first"

"Who did Tom murder to create the Horcrux?" Dumbledore asked.

"You already know the answer"

"Myrtle Warren"

"Yes, he framed Hagrid for her murder, but it was him"

"I knew it, I was the only one that believed Hagrid to be innocent"

Hermione nodded in understanding.

"It took us a while to learn that Voldemort had created seven Horcruxes..."

"SEVEN?"

She nodded. "In order for the war to be won and for Voldemort to be destroyed for good, all seven Horcruxes had to be destroyed"

"How do you destroy a Horcrux?" Remus asked.

"What are the Horcruxes?" Dumbledore asked.

"That's why it took us close to a year to win the war after we ran from school. We were on the hunt from August till May. No one knew what the Horcruxes were or how to destroy them. But thankfully I do know now. The problem is, I don't know where all of them are, but I do know where the majority are. The Gaunt family ring is a Horcrux, Professor Dumbledore found it and he was the one to destroy it in my sixth year, so I don't know where it is. The diary is another, again I'm not sure where it is but I have a few ideas. Another is Helga Hufflepuff's cup, that is in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault. Another is Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem"

"That's a myth" Snape spoke.

"No it's not, I know where it is. It's hidden in Hogwarts in the Room of Requirement"

"It's real?" Dumbledore spoke curiously.

"Yes, the room we held the D.A in was the Room of Requirement"

"I've never heard of it before" Sirius spoke.

"It's mentioned in Hogwarts a History and it doesn't show up on the map. It's the only room that is hidden from it" she spoke amused. "Anyway, the next Horcrux is Salazar Slytherin's locket and I know where that is as well, but getting it will be difficult. The sixth Horcrux is a snake called Nagini, it was Voldemort's pet. The good thing about this is that Nagini, isn't due to exist for another fourteen years. Which means that we are one Horcrux down already"

"And the final Horcrux?" Gideon asked.

"I don't want to say, all you need to know is that I know what it is. I need to figure out a way of destroying it without it having any repercussions" she spoke. "I'm not telling you, it's not important. There are still five Horcruxes to be destroyed, two to be found and three to be stolen" she spoke. "As for destroying them, there is two ways. Basilisk venom or fiendfyre"

"Basilisk venom is incredibly hard to get a hold of and fiendfyre can only be cast and controlled by three people in the world" Dumbledore spoke.

"Four"

"Sorry, Miss Granger?"

"Four people, I can cast and control fiendfyre" she spoke and everyone gaped at her. "Expelliarmus" Hermione spoke and Moody's wand flew out of his hand and into hers.

"How? You weren't even looking at him?" Fabian spoke in wonder.

"Constance Vigilance" she replied and they laughed disbelievingly. She flicked her wand and had ropes tie Moody to his chair and he glared at her.

"As for fiendfyre, I can cast and control it for a couple of reasons. But the only one you need to know is that I practiced everyday whilst on the hunt"

"Well that wasn't that bad" Moody spoke, the silencing charm wearing of.

"That's because I didn't tell you the ritual to create a Horcrux"

"Tell us then" Kingsley spoke.

"No"

"Come on"

"No"

"Miss Granger, it may help to understand how they are created"

"You don't want to know"

"We do" several people spoke.

She sighed and looked at the table and she refused to look at anyone whilst she spoke. "If you are only making one Horcrux, you kill someone, make the potion and say the spell and have the object with you on a full moon. The ritual is different if you have already made one"

"What's different about it?" Snape asked.

"Well, you have to kill someone obviously, but afterwards the ritual is different. You murder five virgins and then have sex with their dead bodies, before you drain the bodies of their blood. Next is for you to bathe in the virgin's blood for two hours. After that you take the virgins' hair and put it in a potion and drink it. When you've drank the potion, you take a spelled athame and carve out the hearts of the virgins and then you eat them"

She heard chairs scrape and several people ran out of the room and she heard retching as they threw up. Hermione wiped away her tears and gripped her necklace. James unconsciously handed Harry to Hermione and she took him and held him tightly to her.

It was several minutes later when people came back into the room and they retook their seats. Hermione looked up to see horrified and sickly expressions through her tears.

"There's more. Once the hearts have been eaten, you dismember the bodies and bury the parts separately on a full moon. You wait till sun rise and then you say the spell, creating another Horcrux. Bad enough for you?" Hermione asked, glaring at Moody, who was quiet and he looked disgusted. "Understand it do you?" she asked Dumbledore and even he looked ashen.

"Now, if you don't mind I want to get this over with" she spoke and with that said her memories started on the screen and everyone turned to watch.

 _Seventh year 1997 – 1998_

 _They watched as Fred, George, Hermione, Ron, Fleur and Mundungus took poly juice potion and changed into Harry. They separated and as soon as they hit the air, they were surrounded and attacked by Death Eaters and Voldemort himself. They watched as Hermione and Kingsley were being chased by him on a thestral, whilst Hermione -well Harry- threw curses over her shoulder. She was hit and she fell off the side of the thestral and Kingsley chased after her and caught her before she hit the ground._

 _They arrived at the Burrow where they were informed that George had been injured and Moody had died because Mundungus had fled._

"I told you Mundungus couldn't be trusted. He's the reason Moody died in my time. Once a rat, always a rat" she spoke, with reference to Pettigrew.

 _They were at Bill and Fleur's wedding when a lynx patronus arrived and panic ensured as they were informed that the Ministry had fallen and Death Eaters were heading their way. They watched as Hermione, Harry and Ron battled with Death Eaters before Hermione apparated them away._

 _The watched as they hid out in forests, old houses, caves and cabins. As Hermione foraged for food and they researched or duelled for practice. They watched as they broke into the Ministry and Ron and Harry had their argument and Ron stormed out. They watched as Hermione and Harry were attacked on Christmas at Godric's Hollow and Hermione pushed them out of the window, using herself as a shield to protect Harry. They watched as Hermione constantly moved herself and Harry around to prevent the risk of being caught and they watched as Ron returned with the Sword of Gryffindor and a destroyed Horcrux._

 _They watched as Harry lost his temper, spoke Voldemort's name and they were caught by snatchers. Hermione, Ron and a disguised Harry were brought to Malfoy Manor and they were sent to the dungeons whilst Hermione was hit with the Cruciatus curse several times until she was a hysterical mess on the floor._

Everyone stared at her in shock as silent tears fell down her face and she kept her eyes on a peacefully sleeping Harry in her arms.

 _"_ _HOW DID YOU BREAK INTO MY VAULT? WHAT ELSE DID YOU TAKE? YOU STOLE FROM ME" Bellatrix screeched and punctuated each sentence with the Cruciatus curse._

 _"_ _NO, WE DIDN'T STEAL ANYTHING! IT'S JUST A FAKE" Hermione screamed back._

 _Bellatrix continued to torture her, soon moving on to asking for information about The Order._

 _"_ _The Weasleys" Bellatrix spat. "We know the blood traitors are working for The Order. Where are they?"_

 _"_ _I don't know"_

 _"_ _Liar" Bellatrix pinned Hermione to the ground and proceed to carve into her left arm and Hermione screamed a scream no one would ever be able to get out of their heads. "Where are they?"_

 _"_ _I don't know"_

 _"_ _You grew up with them, you stayed with them during the holidays. You know where they are, now tell me"_

 _"_ _No, they're safe from you" Hermione said fiercely._

 _"_ _But you're not"_

 _"_ _It doesn't matter, as long as the Weasley's are safe, that's all that matters. I will never tell you where they are. You may as well just kill me" Hermione spat._

 _"_ _No, I'll have some fun first. Crucio" Hermione wriggled and thrashed around on the floor._

 _Lucius Malfoy stepped forward. "Crucio" he spoke just as Rodolphus Lestrange stepped forward and he spoke the spell as well. Hermione's screams tripled as she was under three Crucios and Bellatrix cackled madly, clearly enjoying herself, but she stopped as did the others._

 _"_ _Where are The Order? What are they planning?" Hermione sobbed. "No?" Hermione shook her head weakly and she was placed back under the spells, once more screaming._

 _"_ _That disgusting half-breed, Lupin, I hear he's off with some werewolf packs, where is he?"_

 _"_ _I told you, you're going to have to kill me. I will never turn The Order in" Hermione spoke weakly._

 _"_ _Very well, Rabastan, have some fun" he stepped forward with a beater's bat in hand and he proceed to hit her with it several times. "Going to talk?"_

 _Hermione coughed, gasped and spat some blood out of her mouth. "Over my dead body"_

 _"_ _Greyback, your turn" Greyback stepped forward and grinned down at her leeringly. He bent down and ran his long, yellow fingernail down her cheek, cutting the fragile skin and he licked the blood off her face._

 _"_ _Are you sure she's a mudblood? She doesn't taste like one" he growled, his hand trailing down her weak and crumpled body._

 _"_ _No matter what you do to me, I will never give up my friends. I will die over and over again before I let you even lay your eyes on them" Hermione spoke exhausted._

 _"_ _We'll see" Greyback spoke and his hand moved to her jeans and he unzipped them, and then he moved his hand to her t-shirt and he ripped it open. Before anything could happen the doors burst open and Harry and Ron ran in._

 _They quickly disarmed those in the room and a look of fury and hatred appeared on Harry's face. It was sunset, his magic was unsettled and Hermione's was getting stronger by the minute as the moon would soon be rising._

 _Greyback was blasted away from Hermione and Harry ran to her and he picked her weak and now unconscious form up in his arms. Dobby arrived to provide a distraction and he popped them out of the room, but not before getting hit in the stomach by Bellatrix's knife and he was dead before they landed at Shell Cottage._

Hermione looked up to see everyone staring at her, the looks they had on their faces were worse than when she told them about the Horcrux ritual.

"Still think I'm a spy, Moody? That I am here to hurt anyone? That I can't be trusted?" she asked him, looking exhausted and he didn't speak, just stared at her. "You're wrong about me. You know nothing of what I've been through or what I've witnessed. Sure, you've seen my memories, but I lived it. You saw me being tortured, but I was there for ten hours before I was rescued"

"How did you survive?" Sirius asked her quietly, looking disgusted at himself for being related to the woman that had caused the young woman in front of him unimaginable pain.

"I would've died if they hadn't have gotten there when they did. I was taken to Shell Cottage and healed. I was supposed to be on bed rest for a while, but a week later we left again for the mission. I'm stronger than your average witch, and you already know why" she looked down at Harry and Sirius nodded slowly. "A lot of people can't survive past four hours of torture, never mind ten"

 _They memory showed from Harry's point of view and them landing on the grounds of Shell Cottage. Ron sent his patronus off and Bill ran from the cottage to them. He cursed when he saw the sight that met him. He took the lifeless Hermione from Harry and ran to the cottage and Fleur flooed for the twins, since they had some medical training, what with them being inventors and they were constantly testing products on themselves and they were brilliant with potions._

 _Hermione was placed down on the middle of the bed in one of the spare bedrooms when Fred and George ran into the room._

 _"_ _What's the emergency?" the asked quickly through pants._

 _Bill moved aside and Fred and George gawked when they saw Hermione's unconscious, bloodied, bruised and beaten form._

 _Fred immediately ran forward and started pulling out potions from his pockets and he started healing cuts on her body. He turned back to George who just stood there, not moving._

 _"_ _George?" Fred said and he just looked at Fred, not moving or speaking. "George, get your arse over here" George didn't move and his eyes returned to Hermione's crumpled form. A look of understanding crossed Fred's face. "You like her" he stated and George just blinked. "I should've known, you were always trying to get her attention. You always baited her just so that she would argue with you. I always caught you staring at her during meal times. Bloody hell, George, you picked the wrong time to get a thing for our pretty bookworm"_

Hermione was blushing furiously and she refused to look at anyone, knowing she would see both horrified and amused expressions.

 _"_ _George, snap out of it, she needs us, she needs you" that got George's attention and he ran forward to help his twin._

 _They healed the cuts and stopped the bleeding. They covered her in their bruise removal paste and poured blood replenishing potions down her throat, followed by a pain relief potion, which was the wrong move._

 _Hermione started thrashing around on the bed in a fit._

 _"_ _Shit" Fred cursed. "She must've been under the Cruciatus" he spoke waiting for her to stop fitting and once she did, they recast the healing charms. They turned to look at Harry who was stood at the door watching._

 _"_ _What happened?" Fred demanded._

 _"_ _I don't know, we were kept in the dungeons. We just heard screaming"_

 _"_ _How long for?"_

 _"_ _It felt like days, but I was timing it on my watch. Ten hours"_

 _"_ _Ten hours? They had her under the Cruciatus for ten hours" George spoke with anger in his tone._

 _"_ _We're not sure. When we got there Greyback was hovering over her, he had ripped her shirt and unzipped her jeans"_

 _"_ _HE WAS GOING TO RAPE HER?" he yelled furious and Harry jumped and looked at him strangely through tired eyes._

 _A groaning was heard and they turned to see Hermione moving slightly and she slowly opened her eyes. The twins rounded on her._

 _"_ _Merlin, Granger, you sure know how to worry a guy half to death" Fred joked and Hermione coughed._

 _"_ _We need to know what happened so we can heal you. We gave you a pain potion but your body rejected it, what happened?" George asked her softly, Fred watched how he behaved around her carefully._

 _"_ _We were captured" Hermione coughed and then she groaned. "They kept me and sent Harry and Ron to the dungeons. Bellatrix tortured me. Cruciatus curse, she carved into my arm" she said and she weakly lifted her arm so they could see the blood covered scar that read 'mudblood'. George's anger intensified, but he stayed calm._

 _"_ _This doesn't mean anything, it's just a word, it doesn't define you. It's not who you are. Who you are is a kickass, powerful, muggleborn witch, who just so happens to be the wisest witch of the age" George spoke and Fred had a small smile on his face._

 _She weakly nodded and dropped her arm. "She wanted information about The Order and your family, I didn't tell her anything and it made her mad. Three simultaneous Crucios were cast on me several times, but I still wouldn't give her what she wanted. Rodolphus hit me with a beaters bat multiple times, and when I still wouldn't talk Greyback stepped forward. He was going to rape me" she looked away in shame and George's fists clenched._

 _"_ _He didn't, you were rescued and brought here to Shell Cottage, and you're safe here" he said softly and she nodded._

 _"_ _I feel tired"_

 _"_ _How long were you tortured for?" Fred asked quickly._

 _"_ _Felt like forever" she mumbled. "But the sun was setting and Harry's power was getting weaker and mine stronger as the moon was getting closer to rising. About ten hours" her eyes closed and she fell back into unconsciousness._

 _"_ _What the hell was that about?" Fred asked confused and he eyed the moon pendent. George quickly repaired her t-shirt and took a hold of the pendent and looked at it curiously._

 _"_ _The Moon Goddess" Harry spoke startling them and they looked at him bemused. "The Sun God" he said holding up his necklace for them to see and he walked forward._

 _He kneeled down next to the bed and he took the moon pendent from George and he clasped the sun and moon together. There was a mixture of gold and silver light in the room and when it disappeared, Hermione looked a lot better. Harry unclasped the necklaces and Fred cast several spells._

 _"_ _She's better, not completely healed, but she's a lot better" he spoke in disbelief._

 _"_ _What was that?" George asked._

 _"_ _Fifth year, Hermione and I did something we probably shouldn't have. Hermione found a book on bonds and she and I did a complicated, powerful and probably illegal sibling bond. It melded our lives together, making her my sister and me her brother. We were blessed by the Sun God and his sister the Moon Goddess, hence the pendants. We are far more powerful than the average witch or wizard and it is our responsibility to save the world and stop the war. The powers that be recognise us" Harry spoke and with one last lingering look at Hermione, he left the room to bury Dobby._

 _"_ _Bloody hell Granger, what have you gotten yourself into?" Fred muttered._

"A sibling bond?" McGonagall asked shocked and Hermione nodded.

"When Harry died our bond was broken, but when I was sent here, my bond with Harry was reformed, but with this Harry" she gestured to Harry who was asleep in her arms and they gawked at her. "It's a good thing actually, not only will Harry's magic be stable as he grows up, so will mine, as long as we are close by. I am at my strongest when the moon is up and Harry when the sun is up. During the in-between times our magic is unsettled and we are stronger when we are together. We have the ability to sense when the other is in danger, we understand each other completely; we can have one word conversations and sense each other's mood. It'll help keep me sane in this time frame as well as keep Harry safe"

"Seems as though our nephew had a thing for you" Fabian spoke with a smirk and Hermione blushed causing him and his twin to laugh and the Marauders to smirk.

"Yeah, I don't remember much, but I was in and out of consciousness for a few days. Whenever I woke up I remember George being sat by my bedside. He asked me out on a date after the war, I guess it's a good thing I never made it that far; it would've been bloody awkward seeing three year old George otherwise" they chuckled at her as her blush darkened.

 _The next memory showed Harry, Hermione and Ron breaking into Gringotts, the vault and breaking out on the back of a dragon._

"You are awesome" Gideon spoke and she laughed at him, whilst others nodded in agreement. "No one has ever broken into Gringotts before"

 _It was the Final Battle. They saw the injured, the dead and the fighting as spells were flying and ricocheting left, right and centre. They watched as Hermione and Ron destroyed the cup with a basilisk fang and as Snape died. They watched as they were given a respite break and they ran into the great hall to see Fred and Percy Weasley dead. Hermione cried at the sight and George clung to her, refusing to let her go._

"That's why I made Arthur and Molly leave, never mind that I was tortured, they didn't deserve to see two of their sons killed because of a psychotic murderer" she spoke and they nodded shocked.

 _Harry was dead, and then he was alive and fighting Voldemort. Neville had killed Nagini and then both Harry and Voldemort died. They watched as Hermione cried over his body and as she barricaded herself and Harry inside wards and then the memory ended._

James looked traumatised.

"That's what the future holds and that's what I am here to prevent" Hermione spoke and she stood and handed Harry to James. She put her blood covered jacket back on and removed the spell from Moody.

"Take some time to think if you want to help me, it will be extremely dangerous. We have a while before anything has to be done, but the sooner, the better. I will make a list of all Death Eaters that I know of and how they escaped incarceration in my time. Nothing can be done at Hogwarts anyway until the holidays and I have some plans I need to make"

"Very well, everyone heed Miss Granger's words. Meeting adjourned until the next time" everyone stood and began leaving.

"Do you have somewhere to stay, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked and that's when she frowned realising she didn't.

"She can stay with us" the Prewett twins grinned and before she could reply, they threw their arms around her shoulders and they turned and began walking her out of the door, guiding her.

"Oi, get back here" Sirius called and the twins turned around.

"Yes?" they said innocently.

"She can stay with us" Sirius said amused.

"Ladies choice" the twins shrugged and Hermione bit her lip nervously, looking in-between the two groups.

"I kind of need to be close to Harry. The moon's out and with Harry being a child, his magic is a lot more unstable than it was when he was a teenager" Sirius smirked and the twins frowned, but nodded.

"We understand, being twins and all -"

"- Our magic can sometimes get unstable when we're apart"

"Thank you for the offer though" Hermione said smiling kindly and they bowed in a very Fred and George like manner and waltzed out of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Home**

* * *

AN: AGirlLostInTime – Hermione will not be returning to the future, since it will be nowhere near what it was like when she was there. That was the sacrifice she had to make when she was sent back. Once she has completed her mission, her life will be in that time frame.

cares 1970 – According to my research, Regulus Black, died at the age of eighteen in 1979. For this story I have not brought him back as a character, he will remain dead. And I don't intend for her love interest to be Severus.

filmdork – I will have a play around with some ideas and see what I can come up with, I'll add it to my ever growing list of fanfics to be written. :)

Guest – I will add it to my list and see what I can do.

I have finally decided on who Hermione will be paired with and it will be Hermione and two Marauders. I just thought I would throw in the Prewett twins liking her for a bit of competition for two of our Marauders. Keep them on their toes.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment - Sunday 8th November 1981**

Hermione, James who was carrying a sleeping Harry, Remus and Sirius flooed into the apartment.

It had been trashed and things were out of place, from the aurors searching the building.

"Fix it later" Sirius shrugged. "There are four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and living room. I'll show you to your room" he said and they separated going to their own rooms.

He led Hermione down a corridor and to the room at the end. The walls were white and the flooring black laminate. The queen sized bed had black and white bedding, and the window was covered by black curtains. There was a white chest of drawers, bedside table and a wardrobe and there was a full length mirror on the back of the door.

"Do you need anything?"

"My whole life is in this bag, so I'm fine thank you" he frowned at that, but shook his head. "Do you want anything to eat? I haven't got anything in but I could go out and get something"

"I'm good, thank you; my body needs rest more than it does food. You can last longer without food than you can without sleep"

"You're joking"

"I'm not, thank you for letting me stay here; I'll be out of your way as soon as I can"

Sirius scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous, after everything I've heard and seen today, you're a Marauder, which makes you family and family sticks together. Besides, if Harry's here you need to be too. Night" he walked out of the room and closed the door.

Hermione sighed and quickly went about removing clothing from her bag and separating the clean from the dirty. She then grabbed some pajamas and wash things and slipped out of her room to search for a bathroom. She hadn't had a shower in months. When she found the bathroom, she showered and washed her hair and just stood under the spray of the water, allowing it to wash away the horrors of her past. When she was thoroughly clean she shut off the water and dried herself, before putting on an old quidditch jersey of Harry's and a pair of sleep shorts and she fell into the comfortable bed and she fell asleep immediately.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment - Monday 9th November 1981**

Sirius, Remus and James were all woken by a blood curdling scream, something similar to the screams they had heard from Hermione's memories.

They all jumped out of bed and rushed down the hallway stopping in front of Hermione's room. They looked at each other before opening the door and rushing in. The slowly rising sun allowed them to see Hermione screaming hysterically and thrashing around on the bed which was covered with blood. They rushed forward and shook her shoulders in an effort to wake her.

"HERMIONE!" James yelled and she shot up, her breathing erratic and tears flowing down her face.

"Who has been attacked? Who did it? Where am I needed?" she asked quickly with her wand in hand.

They blinked in shock.

"No one's hurt, you were having a nightmare" Remus spoke.

"What happened?" James asked her.

"It doesn't matter" she said wiping her tears away from her face angrily.

"How long?" Sirius asked.

"Since first year, they got worse as the years went on. They were worse than normal, I imagine it's because I watched my own memories, I now have them in my head twice so the effects would've doubled. It was my own fault. I'll put up a silencing charm from now on"

"No, you won't" Sirius said crossing his arms.

"Yes, I will. I will not disrupt your sleep. I'm used to surviving on about four hours sleep anyway"

"You put them up and we'll take them down"

"I'll use spells from the future"

Sirius frowned. "Got me there" Hermione chuckled at him.

"Harry still asleep?"

James nodded watching her carefully as she climbed out of bed and their eyes widened when they saw her wearing a Gryffindor jersey with 'Potter, 7' written on the back.

"That boy could sleep through a giant tap dancing class" she commented and Remus chuckled at her. She grabbed some clothes from the chest of drawers and went to leave the room.

"You're bleeding" Remus stated and Hermione looked down at herself and sighed. She used her wand to clear away the blood and heal up her scarred arm, before removing the blood from the sheets.

"MPTSD"

"What?"

"Magical Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. My body is reacting to the memories and nightmares, making me relive my memories, opening up old wounds and scars. Like I said, it's caused by me watching my own memories" they looked appalled.

"Are you okay? I didn't notice it earlier, but you look... well... kind of..." James spoke nervously.

"Thin?" she offered and they nodded. "I'm okay, during the hunt we ran out of food. I stopped eating so that Harry and Ron could eat" they stared at her.

"Why would you do that?" Sirius asked horrified.

"Ron was pissing me off whining and Harry comes first. That's the way my life has always been and will always be. His happiness means more than my own. It's still early, you should get some sleep. I have things to do and to prepare for" with that she walked out of the room and to the bathroom to change.

"She's more like his mum than his sister" Sirius commented and Remus punched him in the arm and he grunted.

James frowned. "Yeah, she is" he whispered and then he left for his own room to try and get some more sleep, Sirius and Remus shrugged and then wandered back to their own rooms.

After Hermione dressed she put her hair in a messy bun and she put on her shoes, grabbed a jacket and her bag and she left to go to Diagon Alley, flooing from the apartment. Sirius' apartment was on the outskirts of Diagon Alley so it didn't take long to get there.

Hermione then went into muggle London and went food shopping, paying with the muggle money she had cleared out of her account when she was on the run. She still had plenty left, not being one to go on shopping sprees.

She hid in an alleyway and shrunk down the shopping and then put it in her bag, she made her way back to Diagon Alley and bought a few wizarding food items and then she flooed back into the flat. She sighed at the mess, but with a few spells everything was back to normal.

There was two large black leather couches, two matching reclining arm chairs and a dark coffee table in the middle. The fireplace was on the back wall near the door, to exit the apartment and it had a dark blue and black plush rug in front of it. The walls were a dark blue and the flooring light brown laminate.

She moved onto the kitchen and fixed that up. It was in the same dark blue, with white cabinets and drawers, an oven and a light wooden kitchen table that sat six people. Hermione sent spells at the food and they packed themselves away in the correct cupboards.

She set about making breakfast for everyone. Bacon, sausages, eggs and toast and she made waffles and some muffins. The smell of food woke everyone up and they trudged to the kitchen, dressed and ready for the day. James sat Harry down at the table and Hermione started placing plates in front of everyone.

They stared at the food on their plates lovingly and she chuckled and sat down, giving extra bacon and sausages to Remus and she handed him two chocolate muffins and the chocolate sauce and they stared at her.

"How come he get's extra bacon and sausage and all that chocolate" Sirius whined and Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"The full moon's in two days" she said and James spat out his pumpkin juice and Remus chocked on the bacon had been eating and Harry giggled and clapped his hands together.

"What?" they gasped out.

"The full moon's in two days" she repeated bemused.

"You know?" James said quietly.

"That Remus is a werewolf? Well, yeah"

"How long?"

"Remus was my Professor in my third year, remember? It took me two weeks to figure out he was a werewolf" she shrugged. "After that I sent gift baskets of chocolate to the hospital wing after every full moon. I always saw him eating chocolate when he thought no one was looking" she chuckled. "Anyway, chocolate has been confirmed to contain endorphins that make people happy"

"What?" Sirius said confused.

"Muggle thing" she shrugged.

"You don't care that I'm a mon..."

"Remus John Lupin, finish that sentence, I dare you" she said in a cold tone and glaring at him. James and Sirius smothered a laugh. "If I ever hear you referring to yourself in anything but kind words, I will rain down upon you hex after hex. Most of them from the future so no one, but me, will know how to counteract them" he nodded slowly, looking pale. "Oh, I almost forgot" Hermione spoke in her now friendly tone. "In the future there is a potion that werewolves can take before the full moon, it won't be invented for another six years but I can brew it, I have the level of brewing potions the same as a Potions Master" Hermione explained.

"It doesn't bother you?" Remus said shocked.

"Shut up and eat your chocolate" Hermione said and they laughed at her.

"What does this potion do?" James asked curiously.

"The Wolfsbane potion, it allows the werewolf to keep their memories and control during the full moon. It allows you to have control over your own actions, so that you only hurt someone if you want to"

"Honestly?" Remus whispered.

"Hmm, it's rather brilliant actually, takes a while to brew though. But I can start getting ready for the next full moon, if you can wait out one more full moon that is"

"I can, if it does what you say it can then I'll wait as long as needed. And it works?"

"It does, Snape used to make it for you, but then the whole Dumbledore death fiasco happened and then I was forced to learn how to brew it for you. I've memorised the ingredient list and brewing instructions, so you don't need to worry. The potion won't take away the pain of the transformation, but it will allow you keep your mind and in control. There is a setback"

"What's that?" they asked quickly.

"It tastes disgusting" they laughed relieved. "I'm not joking, it's a cross between the poly juice potion, the skele-grow potion and the potion for the flu"

"That bad?" James grimaced.

"Hmm, yep, but before I left on the mission I was working on a way to make it taste better. I never got to test it, but I think I might have cracked it"

"Where did you get all this food from?" Sirius asked, changing the subject.

"I went into muggle London, the food there is cheaper and tastes better, but I went into Diagon Alley to get you pumpkin juice and other things"

James picked up a blueberry muffin and went to hand it to Harry. Hermione's eyes widened and she waved her hand and the muffin flew into her hand and they all looked at her confused.

"Why did you do that?" James asked bemused.

Hermione sighed and gave the muffin to Sirius, knowing that they were his favourite in the future. "Harry's allergic to blueberries"

"I didn't know that" James frowned.

"You wouldn't" Hermione said softly. "Blueberries are a muggle fruit, in my time he was raised in the muggle world. Blueberry muffins were Sirius' favourite in the future. Give him this one, banoffee" she handed him a banoffee muffin and Harry immediate stuffed it into his mouth, taking a big bite.

"What's banoffee?" Remus asked.

"Banana and toffee, Harry loved them, we'd sneak down to the kitchen at Hogwarts and plead with the house elves to let me use the oven so I could bake some" she said smiling and then the smile dropped, remembering the lifeless body of Harry in front of her.

They watched her and they could see the emotions flicker over her face and they immediately decided to snap her out of it.

"Hermione?" Remus spoke and she snapped her head to look at him and her smile returned.

"I imagine you know a lot about Harry" James commented.

"Hmm, the stories I could tell you about him" she chuckled.

"It'll be good to have you around, you obviously know him as well as me, better even"

"With me around he'll be safe, that I can promise you. What I did to Moody last night... that was child's play. You haven't seen me in a real duel" they laughed.

"That was brilliant, you weren't kidding when you said I would find it entertaining, seeing him being hung upside down on the ceiling and by his ankles too, bloody hell..." Sirius trailed off. "I will never get on your bad side"

"Wise choice, too bad your older self couldn't figure that out"

"What did you do to him?" James asked excitedly.

Hermione smirked. "Come on Prongs, I can't go giving away my trade secrets. As a Marauder you should know that" they laughed at his disappointed face.

"So, tell me a story about my godson" Sirius asked shoving a piece of bacon into his mouth.

"Let's see, he once fell down the stair case near the great hall"

"How?" James asked as they laughed.

"He got distracted. Cho Chang, Harry had a crush on her his third, fourth and fifth year. He quickly got over it after a disastrous first date though. She walked past with her friends and Harry caught her eye and she smiled at him. He took a step forward and forgot he was on the stairs. He missed the step completely and fell down them right to the bottom. He stood up, put his broken glasses back on, brushed his robes down and walked into the great hall like nothing had happened" they were all laughing madly at her.

"Definitely going to be great having you around" James grinned and Hermione laughed.

"I can give you insight on how to deal with a puberty bound Harry Potter. Merlin, his teenage years were a right pain in the arse" she sighed. "Can't wait to see those again" she mumbled and they chuckled at her.

* * *

Hermione was sat in the living room going through her lists and making sure she hadn't forgotten someone and something.

"What are you doing?" James asked, plopping down on the couch next to her and leaning forward to look at all the parchment covered notes that filled the coffee table.

"Preparing. These are lists of Death Eaters and a list of excuses they gave to get out of being incarcerated, this is a list of five of the Horcruxes, where they are, if they need to be found and when they can and should be destroyed. This is a list of potion ingredients I need. Speaking of which, I better find a job, so I can pay for all of this. It's going to be difficult, seeing as though I didn't technically graduate or get my NEWT's and as I don't technically exist in this world yet" she frowned.

"You don't need to worry about that, Padfoot and I are more than capable of providing anything you need"

"No, I know that the two of you are incredibly wealthy, but I will not allow you to pay for the things I need. I have some money that will tie me over for a while, maybe a year and then I will figure something else out"

"Hermione..."

"No, I am perfectly capable of looking after myself, thank you" he sighed.

"No one said you weren't. I just want to help"

"And I appreciate that, but I can't accept it"

"Hermione..."

"Drop it mate" Sirius said walking into the room and throwing Harry in the air and catching him as he laughed. "We all saw what she did to Moody, I wouldn't mind a repeat performance, but Harry needs his father" Sirius said amused and she shook her head at him.

She stood and grabbed up the parchment.

"I need to get these to Dumbledore" she spoke. "I'll go into Diagon Alley and use the owl service, less suspicious and no one will know who it's from except Dumbledore" Hermione explained. "I better visit the Ministry and get myself registered and..."

"Dumbledore floo called this morning, it's already been taken care of. You're officially Mia Granger. You attended a wizarding school in Australia and recently moved back to England. Dumbledore took a look at all the results of your previous -well future- exams, essays, homework and practice exams and he had papers made up saying that you achieved twelve NEWT's at O level, he said you can take the exams if you wish to yourself..." he told her, seeing she was going to argue with him. "But he doubts there is any point, knowing that you will get the same results and it'll just be a waste of time and it'll take away your focus from the reason you were sent here" she scowled and reluctantly nodded and he smirked.

"Well, I should be able to find a job, it'll give me a good cover as well. Now all that's left to do is visit the Grangers" she said and she looked a little pale and Sirius and James frowned.

"We'll go with you, Moony will be back any minute and he can watch Harry" James spoke.

"No, no, it's okay, I'll go by myself"

"We're going with you, it's not an option" Sirius spoke, with no chance of argument.

"Great, get rid of two over protective males to get myself another two in a different time frame. Way to go Hermione" she mumbled and stalked to her room and they chuckled.

* * *

 **Granger Residence**

They apparated into the alleyway on the street Hermione grew up on and they moved out of it and began walking. They didn't look conspicuous with James and Sirius both wearing jeans and a t-shirt, so it was one less thing for Hermione to worry about.

When they reached the house Hermione just stood there.

"I swore I would never come back here" she whispered.

"And you're here to stop what happened to you, happening to your future self" Sirius spoke and he put a comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She nodded and sighed, then slowly she lifted a shaking hand and knocked on the door.

It didn't take long for someone to answer the door.

"Can I help you?" Mrs Granger asked and Hermione froze seeing the woman that abused her for years.

"We would like to talk to you regarding your daughter, Hermione Granger" James spoke and the woman frowned.

"Okay" she said nervously and allowed them into the house and she led them to the living room, the living room were Hermione was pinned to the wall as her father almost squeezed the life out of her.

Her breathing sped up and Sirius pulled her aside and coaxed her until she was breathing correctly and he gave her a comforting hug and led her to the couch where James was sat.

Her mother and father were sat next to each other and the other couch and baby Hermione was asleep up stairs.

"You said you wanted to talk about our daughter, Hermione" Mrs Granger spoke.

Hermione flicked her wand and both Grangers fell asleep.

"What did you do?" Sirius asked cautiously.

"Just sleeping"

Hermione then stood and made her way to her old bedroom and James and Sirius followed her. She entered the room that was exactly the same as her old room, but instead of a bed, there was a crib.

Hermione Granger was sleeping peacefully.

"Awe, you were so cute" Sirius commented. "What happened?"

James laughed as Hermione punched him in the arm and he whined.

"What the hell? You've got an arm on you" he complained.

"Christmas at the Burrow, if you want food, you fight for it" they chuckled at her.

She pointed her wand at her sleeping self and cast several charms. She changed the colour of her eyes from brown to blue, she changed her hair from brown to black and with a flick of her wand she cast a spell that would keep little Hermione's hair in waves, so she wouldn't have to suffer bullying at school because of her frizzy hair, like she did. With one last wave of her wand, she added a few more freckles and made her skin tone slightly paler.

"Nice job, she looks nothing like you" James observed.

"That's the point, you saw my hair. Mini-me isn't going to have to know the struggle of getting a brush caught in her hair" they chuckled at her and then left back down stairs.

Hermione changed the Granger parent's hair to black and their eyes to blue and then she altered their memories slightly so that they wouldn't notice their new appearances. She cast a silencing charm on the room and locking charms on the doors. With a flick of her wand they woke and Hermione hid her wand out of sight.

"Yes" Hermione said answering the statement and she took a deep breath. "What I am going to tell you is completely unbelievable. You won't believe me, but it is the truth. Your daughter is a very special child; she has abilities that are incredible and astonishing. You will see it and just wave it off as your imagination, but it really would've happened"

"I don't understand" Mr Granger frowned.

"I'll show you" she removed her wand and pointed it at the vase on the coffee table.

"Wingardium Leviosa" she spoke and the vase floated in the air and they stared at her with wide, fearful eyes. "Your daughter is witch, like me. When she turns eleven and on the 1st of September 1991, she will attend the prestigious school of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where she will learn to control and harness her magical abilities. She will be given the best education any young witch or wizard can be given and she will be prepared to continue her life as a witch"

"You're crazy"

Hermione sighed and then she stood up and she slowly leaned down and turned into the brown fox. James and Sirius bit their tongues to stop themselves from laughing as Mr and Mrs Granger stood up and walked backwards away from Hermione, but they did smirk.

 _'_ _Looks like the tables have turned'_ Sirius thought proudly.

She turned back into Hermione and sat back on the couch.

"You can scream for help all you want, no one will hear you" Hermione spoke casually. "I cast a silencing charm around this room and you can't leave either, locking charms, they're so useful. Now sit down" she said in a tone that had them running to their seat and sitting immediately.

"Your daughter is a muggleborn witch, like me. That means that she is born with magic, from parents who don't have it. Whereas Sirius and James here" she gestured to them, "are pureblood wizards. Their entire family tree contains ancestry with magically born witches and wizard. In August of 1991 you will receive a letter from Hogwarts and a visit from Deputy Headmistress McGonagall. She will explain the workings of magic to you better. I am here to warn you, if you so much as look at your daughter the wrong way, I will know about it and I will come for you. Your daughter is a gift from Merlin and you should treat her with love and care. I am here telling you now because I don't want you to be afraid of her. Her emotions are in-tuned with her magic. She will be prone to magical outbursts and accidental magic as she ages, but it should stop around the age of six. Remember what I said, I will know if you even look at her the wrong way" Hermione stood up and James and Sirius followed.

"Will she change like you did?" Mr Granger asked, composing himself, but they could still see the fear on his face.

"No, what I did is extremely complicated and powerful magic. Once your daughter has graduated at the age of eighteen, she can decide if she wishes to become and animagus like myself, Sirius and James. However, it is a very rare skill. There are less than one hundred animagi in Britain, that's how complex it is. Which goes to show just how powerful I am" with that she flicked her wand and cancelled the charms on the room.

"There, the spells have been cancelled. Now if you will excuse us, we have some business we need to attend to"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Thoughts**

* * *

AN: AGirlLostInTime – we won't be seeing the Grangers again.

p8efaceharris – I'm a sucker for a happy ending, so I will probably give Severus a happy ending, yes.

TheGirlWithThePantsAndGun – Knowing that you have read and enjoyed my stories is enough, there is no need for you to feel guilty for not reviewing before now, so don't worry. Thank you for your time spent reading my stories, I appreciate it.

Honestly don't you two read – The way I see the glamour charm working is that it hides something you don't want to be seen, but you, yourself still know it's there. If you have a bruise on your arm and you glamour it, you know it's there but others don't, they won't see any changes. That's why I changed the Grangers memories; they would be the only ones to notice the changes. Baby Hermione would be too young and the public wouldn't see any difference in their appearance.

AdelineMalfoy16 – You were right... Hermione is biologically a Granger, but there is something different about her that would cause Greyback to question her blood status, you're the only one to mention that you noticed. You'll get your answers soon.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment - Tuesday 24th November 1981**

"Right, that's done. Dumbledore's seen to it that most of the Death Eaters have been caught, now I need to start figuring out a way to break into Gringotts, you know... again" Hermione said as soon as they stepped out of the floo and into the apartment.

"Don't you ever rest?" James said. "You've been fighting a war for seven years, to be sent back in time to technically fight another one, you were in a coma for eight days and you've ran around like a madwoman for the past two weeks. Just take some time to relax would you?"

"I will relax when there isn't a chance of Voldemort coming back and wanting revenge and killing everyone" with that said she turned around and jumped back into the floo and made her way back to Diagon alley.

She visited Gringotts and had some of her money changed over. Then she bought several large cauldrons and every potion ingredient in the shop twice over, before placing an order for rare ingredients and she had everything delivered to Sirius' Apartment. She then bought several different materials and items of furniture and put them in her bag.

She returned to the apartment and headed to her room and set about enlarging it. With a few spells she had split the now larger room in half and separated it with a wall and door. She transfigured some shelves out of the materials she bought and enlarged the three desks she bought and placed one against each wall. She took out the two wooden cabinets she bought, resized them, before placing an expansion charm on them and then she placed one on either side of the door.

The owl arrived with her things not long after and she gave the owl a treat, before taking everything to her room. She placed one cauldron by each of the three walls, next to the tables and they fit perfectly. Afterwards she set about sorting through the potion ingredients and she placed them all in alphabetical order, in the cabinet on the left, followed by her checking that the spells that were on the jars were still intact so the ingredients were kept at the right temperature and conditions. She filled the other cabinet with empty vials, and that would store any and all complete potions, once she had brewed them.

Once she started brewing she would sort out a system for storing the potions, likely alphabetical order.

She went through her beaded bag and took out all the books she had on potions and she placed them on the shelves on the walls.

Afterwards she cast a few spells that would allow for perfect ventilation, whilst keeping the effects of the simmering potions away from Hermione's bedroom.

She walked back into her room and removed the bookcase she had bought. She put it against the left side of the door and changed it from brown to white to make it so it matched the rest of the furniture. She cast an expansion charm on the bookcase so it could hold more books and then she set about removing every book from her bag.

She had a fair few from her own collection during her time at Hogwarts, and some were Harry's -mainly quidditch, but she couldn't get rid of them for sentimental value reasons- but the majority of them were from Dumbledore's personal library.

Before Dumbledore's death, he had made a muggle will for security. Hermione was the sole beneficiary of it and the executor of the will was a half-blooded lawyer that lived in the muggle world. Dumbledore had left every book in his personal library to Hermione. It was just over five thousand of the rarest and darkest books in existence. Those were the books she used to learn how to cast fiendfyre and to research the Horcruxes. Harry was the only person aware of what Dumbledore had done and they hadn't told anyone.

She had the books with her when she was brought to 1981 and therefore they stayed in her possession. She realised that she would still need more space, so she elongated the bookcase so that it touched the ceiling and she widened it so that it covered from the door to the corner of the wall. With her wand she cast spells to sort the books out into a system that she would understand: the most useful, then the most dangerous, followed by alphabetical order. After every single book was placed in the bookcase, she cast several protection and safety spells and they would only allow her to remove the books from the bookcase.

She sighed when she was finished and then she flopped onto her bed. Two weeks had passed since the day her identity and mission had been revealed to The Order. And since then she had done nothing but research, make notes, help capture Death Eaters, attend Order meetings and spend time with Harry and the Marauders. She was exhausted. Her night terrors hadn't lessened, but at least she was putting on weight and soon she would be back to good health.

There was a knock on the door. James entered the room and he looked around shocked.

"Okay, that wasn't there before" he said pointing to the bookcase. "And that definitely wasn't there this morning" he pointed to the wall and door. She chuckled at him and sat up.

"I've just finished"

"How many books are there?" he asked walking over to them and his eyes widened at some of the titles.

"Just over five thousand I think, I haven't counted" she shrugged.

"You brought all of these with you from the future? Where did you get them? How did you get them? How did you bring them with you?"

"Yes, I brought them with me from the future, only a few of them haven't been published yet, mainly just school books or newest editions. We used my beaded bag when we were on the hunt, I have an undetectable extension charm on it. The rest of the books Dumbledore left to me in a muggle will for security reasons. This was his personal library, so you can imagine the kind of things written in these books. They are some of the darkest and rarest in the world. Malfoy eat your heart out" she snorted and he gawked at her.

"He must've really trusted you, Dumbledore I mean" he mused and sat down on the bed next to her.

"Hmm, brightest witch of the age and all that" she rolled her eyes and he chuckled. "I don't know, I guess he knew I would do whatever I had to for Harry. Even if it meant I died, I jumped into front of a Crucio for him once. My life kind of revolved around him. It sounds kind of pathetic, but it wasn't. At least that's not the way I see it. He was my best friend. He didn't make fun of me for my hair and he didn't hate me because of my blood or intelligence"

"What about the youngest Weasley, the boy I mean, Ron?"

"Ron was Ron" she sighed. "He could be just as cruel as the rest of them, sometimes worse. He was my best friend and because of that he knew what ammunition to use to hurt me and he did, a lot"

James frowned at that. "I'm sure he didn't mean it"

"He did. My fourth year, the Triwizard Tournament, you remember that?" he nodded. "Well there was a Yule Ball. I was asked to attend with Viktor Krum. Not only was Viktor Krum Durmstrang's champion, when he wasn't attending school, he was the youngest seeker in the world to play professional quidditch. He played for the Vrasta Vultures. He was actually referred to as 'The World's Greatest Seeker' and he was Ron's idol. Ron assumed that I had no one to go to the Ball with so he wanted to use me as a last resort; he didn't believe that someone had already asked me. When we were at the Ball I went and sat with Ron and Harry whilst Viktor went to the bathroom. Ron accused me of fraternizing with the enemy. He said that Viktor was only using me to distract Harry. That he only wanted one thing from me, that he was too old for me" sadness crept up inside her. "The funny thing is, he hadn't been seventeen long since his birthday was in August and I was already sixteen" she shrugged sadly.

"I don't remember much after that, I blocked out the rest of the argument. I never understood why they called us 'The Golden Trio'; I guess they only saw the three teenagers that seemed to fix everything, that were the heroes. They never saw the three tired and broken teenagers that just wanted to give up. We must've been good at hiding everything. Particularly Harry and I, we had more burdens that Ron did. He was always embarrassed by his family's lack of possessions and wealth. My parents were well off with their muggle profession of being dentists and Harry was wealthy because he inherited the Potter fortune, or he would've, at the most he had five hundred thousand galleons in his vault when he started Hogwarts. But Harry and I, we would've given everything we owned; we would've sold our souls to dementors to have a family like the Weasleys. A family based on morals and love. We were both abused by our families; it's why we spent more time with the Weasleys than we did with our own families. Ron stopped talking to us during our fifth year; he was the only person we told about the sibling bond we shared. He was furious, I don't know why. What we did was our decision, we just wanted a family. Someone we knew we could rely on, that would always be there for each other, someone that would protect us. We realised that for us it was each other"

James was pensive, thinking over ever word she had spoken and he looked at the young woman in front of him, sure he had a kid at the age of twenty-one, but the woman in front of him was only two years his junior and she had been through and seen more than he could ever imagine. In her time she had put his son first in everything and she protected him with her life on more than one occasion.

He looked at her, really looked for the first time.

She was wearing simple, everyday muggle clothing. A pair of white converse, black skinny jeans and a plain white long sleeved t-shirt, which showed off her figure slightly. Her sleek, mahogany curls were held up in a mess on top of her head and secured by her wand, but a fair few curls had fallen out and framed her face. Her skin was porcelain in colour and looked delicate. Her slender, but curvaceous, five-foot-six frame was much smaller than his six-foot-two muscled one, from years of playing quidditch. Her long lashes were wet and glistened with tears and she looked up at him with her large chocolate brown eyes. Her eyes filled with knowledge, pain, sadness, but he saw something else. He saw hope. Hope that she could prevent the second war and save lives.

He watched her and she turned away from him. She was so different to his Lily. But she wasn't his anymore; she had died fifteen months ago in childbirth. He had mourned the loss of his wife and he had learned to live without her. He hadn't dated despite Sirius urging him to, what with the war being at its peak and never knowing who you could and couldn't trust, but most importantly, he didn't want to. He knew he had mourned his wife, but he didn't feel ready to date. He didn't want to feel like he was betraying her memory. But he hadn't found the right person to even risk that feeling with, at least he hadn't until Hermione arrived.

He frowned at the thought and looked away from her. He had only officially known her for two weeks. She was his son's protector, best friend, technically his sister, even though she seemed to act more like his mother. That should've put him off instantly. That thought should've repulsed him, but it didn't. He knew he respected her, that was for sure, he knew he owed her a life debt and he knew he could rely on her. He knew that he could trust her with everything he had, especially his son. The bond she shared with his son made that more than possible.

He looked at her once more to see her wiping away her tears and a look of determination found its way onto her face.

She was like Lily. She was a muggleborn and heartbreakingly beautiful and he knew she didn't know it, which made her seem even more stunning. She was intelligent beyond belief and Dumbledore wouldn't have left his prized personal library with her if he didn't know that she would put it to good use. She loved Harry and she put him first, he understood that, he saw it in her memories, he witnessed it every day.

But she was so different. Unlike Lily, she was a warrior, a fighter, a survivor. The battle scars she had were proof of that. He could only see two, her mudblood scar on her left arm and a small scar on her temple, and after seeing her memories he knew she obtained it the day Harry rescued her from her parents. That was another difference; she was abused as a child, Lily had trouble with her sister, but her parents had always been proud of her. He could tell from Hermione's behaviour and from the expressions she wore on her face that she had suffered and she had seen things no person should ever see. She was wise beyond her years and more mature than her nineteen years. He didn't doubt that she would use her wand to defend anyone that couldn't do it themselves. He got that feeling from her. The feeling that she would fight for the underdog and her kind features and smile she wore, only cemented that ideology within him. Lily was kind and caring, but she could be reserved at times. She could hold her own in an argument and she would stand up for others, but not to the extent of putting her own safety in jeopardy.

He allowed his thoughts to wander. Did he have a small liking for the woman sat next to him? Or was it just some form of attachment in her being the reason he and his son were still alive? If he did like her, would he act upon it? He knew that she was there on a mission, but once that was complete she was stuck in his time. Her life would be there.

Hermione looked up at him as he was lost in thought, and she surveyed the differences in him. From what she could remember, the photos Harry had shown her of him, he didn't look all that different.

James was incredibly handsome, much like Sirius and Remus, but in a different way. Like Harry, he had a head of messy raven hair that seemed to be even more untameable than hers and it amused her greatly. He had hazel coloured eyes that shone with amusement and laughter. His six-foot-two, muscled frame was larger than her five-foot-six delicate one. His wide smile, so similar to Harry's and it broke her heart to see it, with it reminding her of what happened to her Harry. But then she would remember that baby Harry would never grow up to witness the things she did and it brought her peace. The one main difference between this James, on the other James, was glasses. The James Potter in front of her, he didn't wear glasses, which she thought odd. Not only had lives been saved with her presence, but it seemed small, minor details had changed as well. James didn't wear glasses, Sirius liked white chocolate and her time he hated it, Remus' favourite book was Quidditch through the Ages and it her time it was Animal Farm and Harry was allergic to strawberries as well as blueberries, in her time he was only allergic to blueberries. Changes, but she could easily and was more than willing to live with them.

She sighed when she remembered the future plans she had to make to end the war for good.

James was brought out of his conflicting thoughts when he heard her sigh and he remembered her last words.

"You have a family" he said and she looked up at him with her large, captivating eyes that any man could drown in. "You have a family here. You're a Marauder" he said and he was pleased when she smiled at him.

"You have two maps in this time now" she chuckled. "Imagine the trouble that could occur at Hogwarts. You can give the map I have to Harry and Fred and George can find the other one like they did in my time. Filch will have his hands full" she said amused and he chuckled.

"What's in there?" he asked pointing to the door.

She stood and walked over to the door, she turned around to face him with a raised eyebrow. "You coming?" she asked.

He stood and walked over to her and she opened the door and he walked in. He looked around to see the make shift potions lab she had made. He hated potions when he was in school, not being very good at it, but even he could tell that despite the room being simple and comfortable, it was designed to fit the brewer's needs and the environmental needs of the potion ingredients, as well as ventilation and lighting.

"You created this by yourself?" he asked impressed.

She nodded and then walked over to the table and cauldron on the back wall. She pulled out the comfortable looking stool and sat down with her back to him. She wandlessly accioed a muggle notebook and pen that she kept in her bag and his eyes widened in awe. She stared scribbling in the notebook and a few minutes later she ripped out the page from the notebook. Hermione removed her wand from her hair and her curls fell to the middle of her back and spilled over his shoulders and James watched enraptured at the completely innocent action. She flicked her wand and with a sticking charm, she stuck the page to the wall in front of her and above the cauldron.

She filled the cauldron with water and began heating it up with her wand. She then stood up and moved over to her ingredients cabinet -which was more like a storage cupboard- and she removed the ingredients she needed and placed them on the table.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to start brewing the Wolfsbane potion for Remus. He has to take it once a day during the week leading up to the full moon, if he misses one day the potion will lose effect. It takes nine days to brew and one day to simmer. Afterwards it needs to be bottled within an hour of completion and then it can be stored for two months and not a day longer. Why? Do you want to help me?"

"I was rubbish at potions"

"So was Harry, completely useless" she said fondly. "He got an E on his OWL though and he took it as a NEWT, he wanted to be an auror"

"If he was rubbish how did he get a good grade and make it to NEWT level?" he asked pulling up a stool from one of the other tables and sitting down next to her.

"I helped him, he passed all of his classes because of me" she shrugged. "Now, let's begin"

They spent the next thirty minutes cutting up the ingredients and putting them into the cauldron, whilst stirring the cauldron in the right places.

"Okay, in exactly three minutes we need to add the Wolfsbane, we need to prepare it"

"We already have" he said confused.

"No, we've sliced it, then we diced it, now we have to crush it"

"Why didn't we just do that in the first place?"

"The ingredient needs to get an efficient amount of air absorbed. Slicing it allows for us to let it settle whilst we work on the other ingredients and then we dice it so it can get more oxygen. Then we need to crush it into a fine powder and put it in the cauldron. Also dicing the Wolfsbane beforehand makes it easier to crush it since it doesn't require as much effort" she said and he blinked. She had been crushing the Wolfsbane whilst she answered him, never taking her eyes off the task at hand.

Hermione gave him a look that had him picking up his potions knife and crushing the rest of the Wolfsbane into a fine powder. When they had finished Hermione quickly, but carefully put the powder into the cauldron. The potion turned a midnight blue colour as she slowly stirred it anti-clockwise for nine turns.

"You make it look so easy" he said as he watched her meticulously cleaning up the workplace.

"It is, are you telling me that you found that hard?"

"Well no, it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be"

"Hmm, you just helped me make one of the most difficult potions in the world" she said proudly. "Or soon to be one of the most difficult potions in the world" she amended.

"Well you're a good teacher" he shrugged. Lily had tried, but she had never been able to help him brew a potion successfully. "What's next?"

"Nothing, at least not for today. Twice a day I will add some crushed Wolfsbane to the potion for eight days, then it will be left for one day and it will be completed when I add the final ingredient"

"Which is?"

"Aconite"

He frowned. "That's Wolfsbane"

Hermione beamed at him. "It is, and you say you're rubbish at potions. The actual last ingredient is the South African sugar cane leaf. In my time Snape tried to make the potion taste better by using sugar, but that just made the potion ineffective. So I added some lemon zest, followed by some South African sugar cane leaf to help balance out the taste. In theory it should work"

"Where did this door come from?" they heard Sirius ask and he walked into the room. "Whoa, okay, this definitely wasn't here before" he muttered and looked around and she and James laughed at him. "What are the two of you up to?"

"Brewing the potion for Remus" Hermione replied.

"And Prongs here helped you? He's rubbish and will likely poison Moony"

"Actually, he did rather well" Hermione said proudly and James looked smug, whilst Sirius raised an eyebrow. "So, do you need something?"

"I'm going to go out for some dinner, just wanted to know your order" Sirius spoke. After taking their food orders, Sirius left the apartment for the Leaky Cauldron.

He decided to travel the short distance to the Leaky Cauldron and walk to clear his mind.

A lot had happened in the past few weeks. He had almost lost his best friend and godson. He had been sent to Azkaban and almost lost his life. His brother, Regulus, who became a Death Eater, had died two years ago at the young age of eighteen, in a raid where the occupants had put up a fight. His father had also died two years ago, shortly before his brother and he suspected his mother was the cause.

He hadn't attended Regulus' funeral since his mother had disowned him and would kill him if she caught him anywhere near his grave, and he hadn't attended his father's since he was a cruel and vicious bastard.

From the day of Sirius' birth he had blood supremacy pushed upon him, but he rebelled and eventually broke free, the Potters taking custody of him at the age of sixteen. His brother hadn't been so lucky.

Contrary to belief, Sirius didn't hate his younger brother. In fact he had tried to protect Regulus, like he did when they were younger. He would take the Crucios so that Regulus didn't have to. He had tried to bring him to the light side with him, but his parents well and truly had him under their control. And because of that he had died.

A year ago his girlfriend, Marlene McKinnon, had died when her home was raided. Sirius knew that he didn't love her, but he still cared for her and her death had hurt him in ways he never thought possible. So to help get over it, during the war he would be the womanizer he was known for being at Hogwarts and over time he felt better.

Then Hermione turned up out of the blue, saving everyone's lives. He didn't know what to make of her at first, but then she saved James, gave him her wand, got him out of Azkaban, revealed that she was from the future, that she was bonded to Harry, that he had apparently trusted her enough to make her a Marauder, she was abused like he had been and she had provided information that was invaluable.

The little witch made him laugh and that was hard for anyone to do, the only people that could make him truly laugh were James, Remus, -sometimes the Prewett twins- and Harry and now Hermione was added to the list. He respected her and she not only deserved it, she had earned it. She was incredibly stubborn and intelligent; he had watched her during The Order meetings as she argued with Dumbledore over plans, stakeouts and missions and she had won every argument, much to the surprise of every one. She was slowly becoming the new leader of The Order, and the others may not be able to see it, but he could. Soon Dumbledore would not be the one people went to, she would. They would not go to him for approval, they would go to her.

Not only was she stubborn and intelligent, she was stunningly beautiful, he had seen her in nothing but jeans, trainers, t-shirts and old quidditch jerseys, and he wasn't sure if his heart could ever take seeing her all dolled up. He could only imagine. The young woman was fierce, loyal and could damn right hold her own in a duel, physically and verbally. As he witnessed in every Order meeting they had been to, since Moody still didn't trust her and he was always trying to hex her when she wasn't looking. But he had yet to best her, much to the surprise of everyone, including the aurors who worked under Moody. They had even asked Hermione to train them and it caused her to burst out laughing for a good ten minutes.

During the early mornings, Sirius would sit outside of her door waiting. Hermione had indeed started putting silencing charms on her room and like she promised, no one had been able to figure out how to dismantle them. So instead he sat outside the door around the time she would have a nightmare and he would unlock her door -which thankfully he could do- and he would change into Padfoot and climb onto the bed. She would be crying and screaming in her sleep and when he settled down next to her, she would cling to him and cry into his fur whilst he whimpered. Eventually she would settle down and he would leave and head back to his room.

Hermione would make everyone breakfast and then research until lunch, she would either make lunch or Remus and Sirius would pick up food –under threats, glares and orders from Hermione, James and Harry were not allowed to leave the apartment as there were still Death Eaters on the run, despite the amount already caught-, afterwards she would continue doing research and then she would make dinner. After dinner she would do more research and then spend some time with the Marauders and Harry before heading to bed. Sirius had her routine down to the letter.

He had been wondering if he liked the young witch more than he should. He wasn't sure and that's why he decided to walk to Diagon Alley. If he found that he did like her, what would he do? How would he act? How would she act? According to her, she had seen the future him as family, as an uncle and he wasn't sure whether that worried him or not. He had only ever had one serious -pun intended- girlfriend and look how that turned out, with her dying. Other than that he was a womanizer, a one night stand kind of guy and he knew that Hermione was nothing like that. He respected her far too much to treat her that way, and she would hex his arse and the thought brought a smile to his face.

He had a lot to think about.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Early Morning Talks**

* * *

AN: It was difficult for me to choose which Marauders I wanted Hermione to be in a triad relationship with, but I've finally made my mind up.

exlibris93 – I didn't want to just jump straight into a relationship, I wanted to explore the characters first and build them up. I'm trying to work out a pace for the characters to move at. I don't know whether to move things along quickly or stretch it out a bit more.

* * *

 **Unknown Location - Thursday 10th December 1981**

Hermione was furious. Hermione was beyond furious; she was even considering murder. Yes, she was making meticulous plans to murder both Moody and Dumbledore. She had thought she had dealt with her issues with Dumbledore, but it turns out they were just suppressed and now they were coming back tenfold.

The room was quiet; no one dared to speak after the outburst they had just witnessed. They watched as Hermione's hair began to spark, as she began to glow silver. If you looked out of the newly added windows, you could see the moon seeming to glow brighter, and that was not a good sign.

Parchment, books, ink pots and quills started to levitate from their places on the table and they rose higher and higher. They could all feel her magic crackling in the air and it made their hair stand on end.

James quickly stood up and placed Harry in Hermione's arms. As soon as she held him to her, Harry started glowing gold and he tugged on one of her curls and touched her face in a comforting gesture.

The Marauders and the Prewett twins were watching her enraptured and in awe.

Hermione took several deep breaths and kept her eyes on Harry. All the floating objects slowly descended until they landed back on the table and the glow vanished. She handed Harry back to James and looked at him thankfully. She then turned back to Dumbledore and Moody

"This is the last time I will ever say this, so listen very carefully" Hermione spoke in a cold and dangerous tone that was so different to her usual warm and friendly one. That fact alone had them on edge as in the almost six weeks she had been with them, they had never seen her that enraged before and it worried them. "Harry will not be used in any plans. I don't give a flying fuck what the prophecy states, not all prophecies come true. That crackpot cannot be trusted"

"Miss Granger, Professor Trelawney is..."

"She is useless and a royal pain in my arse, is what she is" she all but growled. "You can't believe a word she says. She made a prediction about me in third year, do you know that? She was so sure of herself. Do you know what it was? It was that I would die before my sixteenth birthday. I'm nineteen now and very much alive. Then she made another prediction that it would snow in July, of course she was wrong. And my personal favourite, Harry and I would elope in our seventh year, so that our love for each other would be known to the world"

That was it, they couldn't take it anymore and Sirius and James burst out laughing. Remus would've laughed too if he was present, however, he was back at the apartment in bed suffering the effects of the soon to be full moon, which would be the next day.

"You would never marry Harry" Sirius said through guffaws. "Not only because of the sibling bond, but because you would sooner marry Moody than Harry" that caused the Marauders to laugh louder and the Prewett twin burst into laughter too.

"My point exactly" Hermione said looking at Sirius gratefully. "And neither of us made it to our seventh year. Listening to Trelawney is a waste of time. Harry will be nowhere near this war; he suffered enough in my time at the hands of you. Harry was always loyal and easily led. You were his idol, he did everything you asked. You kept secrets and you manipulated him, you turned him into a weapon. My best friend, my little brother, the only family that I had, and he died because of you. You put the weight of the world on his shoulders and I did what I could to help relieve him of that burden, the sibling bond allowed me to do that. Harry will be kept as far away from the war as possible. Harry and I are bound by magic. His wand is suitable to my magic, just as my wand is suitable to his magic"

"Impossible" Moody barked and Hermione turned her glare on him.

"Fine, I'll prove it" she pulled out a wand from her beaded bag. "This is Harry's future wand. I went to Ollivander's a week ago and purchased it. It's eleven inches, made of holly wood and has a phoenix feather core. This wand is the sister wand to Voldemort's wand, since the phoenix gave two feathers, an incredibly rare occurrence" Hermione glared at Moody.

She walked over to James who had Harry sat on his knee and she handed Harry the wand. There was a sudden glow in the room and the wand let off fireworks into the air and Harry giggled and clapped. They all gawked.

Hermione took the wand from Harry and then cast the same spell to set off the fireworks, effortlessly and seemingly without resistance from the wand. Next Hermione handed Harry her wand and once more fireworks were released from the tip and into the air and Harry giggled and clapped again. She took the wand from him and ruffled his hair and then turned back to Dumbledore and Moody.

"Like I said, Harry's wand will work for me and mine for him. Our magic is bonded; I can be substituted for Harry. He is going to be kept out of this war, not only is he a child and it is disgusting that you wish to use him as bait, secondly, you will have to go through me first"

"Not a problem" Moody barked. "Incarcerous" he said quickly and Hermione rolled out of the way.

"I am not doing this with you, Moody" Hermione said coldly and she pulled her wand. "Pullus" she called and a white beam of light hit Moody in the chest, in front of their eyes he began to transform, until everyone was looking down at him in shock. He was no longer human, Hermione had turned him into a chicken and everyone stared at her.

"I know you say that human transfiguration shouldn't be used as a punishment, Professor McGonagall, but he deserved it" they just stared. Moody was clucking and ruffling his feathers angrily and Hermione sent a silencing charm at him, followed by a containment charm.

"Why a chicken?" Fabian asked curiously.

She shrugged. "Well, he can't have been sorted into Gryffindor with the way he's behaving. Honestly, using a child so that he doesn't have to fight, that's a coward to me. In the muggle world we have a saying for someone who is a coward, we call them 'a chicken', it fits" he laughed at her. "Back to my point"

"It is not your decision" Dumbledore spoke and for the first time in his life, James saw something in Dumbledore he didn't like.

"No, it's mine" James said standing up and walking to stand beside Hermione, with Harry in his arms. "I respect you Albus, but I will not allow you to jeopardise the life of my son. I trust Mia, implicitly. She has done more for The Order and gotten more done than you have in the past four years. She won a war, she's been fighting longer than we have and she has suffered more than we have. She knows more about these Horcruxes than anyone. I trust her judgement completely. Everything she has done here has not only kept people safe, but improved their lives. You said so yourself, she is extremely valuable to the cause -hell, she is _the_ cause- and if the other side were to ever get wind of her, the results would be catastrophic. You know she's right, you just don't want her to outshine you"

"You deal with the Death Eaters, I'll deal with the Horcruxes" Hermione spoke.

"You will need my help" Dumbledore spoke resolutely.

"Not really. There are seven. One doesn't exist in this time frame yet and won't for another fourteen years. I know where four of them are and I have my suspicions about the final two"

"You will still need help"

"Fine, James and Sirius can help me. Expect my arrival at Hogwarts during the Christmas break. I'll owl you closer to the date" with that said she turned, grabbed her wand and then went to leave.

"This meeting isn't over yet"

"Yes, it is, Professor. I have said all I needed to say; now I have to make plans and continue to research my theories on the final two Horcruxes. Once they are destroyed, Voldemort will be mortal" she turned. "By the way, remember what I said about my magic being stronger when the moon is out? Well, it's a full moon tomorrow and I am blessed by the Moon Goddess herself, you're lucky Harry was here, otherwise who knows what would have happened? Don't ever make me that angry again, the spell on Moody will wear off in about thirty hours" with that said she turned and walked out of the door.

The Prewett twins stood up clapped loudly.

"Mia Granger, the brightest witch of the age, ladies and gentlemen" Sirius and James chuckled and then the Prewett twins shared a look, nodded and followed Hermione out of the room. Both Sirius and James noticed the looks and they frowned.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment – Friday 11th December 1981**

Hermione had woken up in the early hours of the morning. Partially because it was her routine, but also because she could feel something within her. She could feel that Harry needed her. It was the first time since she had arrived that she had felt something from Harry.

She leapt out of bed, exited her room and went to James'. She slowly opened the door to see James sprawled out on his king sized bed and she chuckled quietly. Harry was in his own twin sized bed and tossing and turning.

She was glad she had placed the containment spell on his bed. Harry would not be able to fall out of bed or leave the bed himself. An adult would have to remove him until he was old enough to do it himself without getting hurt.

She went over to him and picked him up and then quietly left the room and headed into the living room.

She flicked her wand sending a dull ball of light into the air and then she sat down on one of the reclining arm chairs. Harry woke up and he clung to her and wouldn't let go.

"Did you have a bad dream?" he nodded and she rubbed comforting circles on his back. "The monsters in your dreams aren't real. The real monsters are all locked up in a place where they can't hurt anyone. I promise you Harry, I will never let anyone hurt you. As long as I'm around no one will get past me" she spoke softly. She started humming and before she knew it, Harry had fallen asleep.

Hermione didn't know how long she sat there with Harry sleeping in her arms, with his arms around her neck and his head buried against her shoulder and in-between her neck.

She heard movement and opened her eyes to see James enter the room yawning and stretching.

"What happened?" he asked groggily and he sat down in the chair next to her.

"He had a bad dream. I could feel that he needed me. I can't tell you how happy I am to know that the sibling bond is exactly the same as it was in my time. I was worried that it wasn't as strong as before"

"Why? We've all seen the way you two react to each other. How protective you are of him. How your magic glows when you're comforting each other, or when you heal each other, not gunna lie, still haven't gotten used to that part yet, although it's handy"

She chuckled at him. "I was worried because the bond didn't seem to be the same. It only took a week for Harry and I to benefit from the bond. The sensing what the other was feeling, the knowing when the other was needed, being able to understand each other with one word or a look. I didn't have that with mini Harry. But I woke up because I felt something within me telling me that Harry needed me. I knew that the bond was starting to take effect. I was worried because it's taken almost six weeks. But I shouldn't have, I mean mini Harry is very different to future Harry. He isn't as powerful yet, his magic won't surface for at least another three or four years. Mini Harry didn't complete the bond with me, he hasn't suffered or been traumatized and we don't rely on each other for survival. I should've known it would take longer"

"Well the bond is working fully now, there's nothing for you to worry about. It's going to be so much easier on everyone now though" she raised an eyebrow. "Well you can sense his mood, we'll know when he's hungry, thirsty or tired before he even knows it himself" she chuckled at him.

"Do you want me to watch Harry tonight so you can go with Remus and Sirius?" she asked, the last full moon he had stayed behind because what had happened at Godric's Hollow was still recent.

"I can stay if you need me too"

"No, it's alright. Harry and I haven't really had any time alone together to really put the sibling bond to the test. Besides, you should see the difference the potion will make to Remus tonight. You and Sirius go and I'll watch him"

"Aren't you coming? You're a Marauder after all"

She snorted. "You just want to see me and Sirius fight in animagus form"

"I've got a bet going with Moony, I think you'll win" she laughed at him.

"Remus and Sirius wouldn't let Harry and I go with them during the full moon. They were worried that we hadn't been transforming long enough and they didn't want to risk us turning back by accident" he nodded in understanding. "But after Sirius died Remus kind of lost his way a little. He wouldn't let Harry or I with him on the nights of the full moon and Dumbledore sent him out on missions to other werewolf packs to see if we could get them as allies"

"Next full moon, you can come with us. Molly's owled about setting up a play date for Harry and her children, and we're going over for lunch on Monday. Most of The Order knows about Remus, so if we ask her to watch Harry on the night of the full moon she'll understand" Hermione nodded, sighed and closed her eyes.

James watched her for a little while, looking the perfect picture of peacefulness and content as she continued to run her hands comfortingly down Harry's back whilst he was sleeping soundly.

"Will you tell me about the bond?" she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"I can do you one better, I can show you" he smiled.

"I'll put Harry back to bed" he said.

He took him from her and returned him to his bed. After tucking him in, he turned and made his way back to the living room. Hermione had moved to sit on one of the couches and she had her legs pulled up and a blanket draped over her. With it being winter it was cold in the apartment, even with heating charms, and it didn't help that Sirius was always leaving windows open. There was a bowl on the coffee table and a large screen floating in the air and he chuckled.

He sat down next to her on the couch and pulled on the blanket so that it covered him as well. Hermione smiled at him and then together they watched Hermione and Harry complete the sibling bond.

"Wow! That was some powerful magic" James said in awe when the memory ended.

Hermione nodded. "That's the Sun God and the Moon Goddess for you" she shrugged.

"I'm actually glad that Harry has you in his life, both in your time and this one. In both time lines you are the only constant thing that has loved Harry, protected him and understood him"

"I promise you, James, I will not let any harm come to him. Especially from Dumbledore"

"I saw something in Albus today that I didn't like. He was willing to use my barely one year old son as bait. I can't believe that's the man I looked up to growing up. Fair enough, using an adult as bait, that's understandable. But using a child..."

"I learned not to trust Dumbledore" she said sadly. "I once thought that he was a great wizard. I looked up to him too. But as the war went on, I started noticing things about him, things I didn't like. He was manipulative and secretive, particularly with Harry. His actions had consequences for others and he never took responsibility for the pain he caused. As I grew older rumours were going around about Dumbledore and I wondered if there was ever any truth to them"

"What rumours?"

"Rita Skeeter..." James groaned and Hermione raised an eyebrow. "You know her?"

"She's an up and coming reporter, got a nasty personality from what I can gather from her articles" Hermione snorted.

"She's only going to get worse. She hated me in the future. I'm talking about, fully blown raw hatred. The articles she wrote about me..." she laughed.

"Why?"

"That is a story for another time" she said and he huffed in annoyance causing her to chuckle. "Anyway, Rita Skeeter wrote an unauthorised autobiography about Dumbledore. She claimed that he and Grindelwald had a passionate love affair during their younger years. They broke it off when they disagreed on their views regarding muggles and magic. Skeeter wrote that Dumbledore was able to defeat Grindelwald because he double crossed him. They met on the pre-tense of them potentially working out their relationship problems and Dumbledore used the distraction to defeat him" Hermione shrugged and James stared at her. "Of course it was never proven, but I've always wondered if there was some truth to the speculations. I wouldn't put it past him after what I've witnessed over the years, and, he never married"

"Ever since you've arrived I seen some differences in him" James said thoughtfully. "I can't quite explain what they are, but I know I've seen them" Hermione nodded in understanding. "You should be the head of The Order" he commented randomly.

Hermione stared at him before she burst out laughing.

"You're nuts" she commented through her laughter.

"I'm being serious" he said and the look that accompanied his words made her stop laughing immediately. "You should be the new head of The Order. You know more about the coming war than anyone. You have a brilliant mind and are amazing at drawing up battle and mission plans. You won't put anyone in jeopardy for the sake of a win. You won't use people as bait. Everyone respects you after what they witnessed from your memories, you have been nothing but truthful when they ask you questions and you can make light of a dark situation, which helps with morale in The Order. You are responsible for one hundred Death Eaters being caught and sentenced to Azkaban. Not to mention, you've argued with Dumbledore and undermined him in front of everyone without fear, and, you are the _only_ person alive to best Moody at every turn. He has yet to beat you in a duel, even when he cheats and throws curses at you in the middle of a speech" he spoke passionately and she just stared at him. "You turned him into a chicken for Merlin's Sake" he almost yelled laughing.

"I'm not a leader"

He snorted. "You may not realise it, but you are already taking over, albeit unintentionally. Everyone comes to you for advice; they come to you for help. Not Albus. I think that's why he's pushing your buttons as of late. He fears you. I'm not the only one to see it, Sirius and Remus have noticed it as well" Hermione just shook her head.

"Let's just get back to my original point, shall we? I will protect Harry with my life and even if I don't make it through this war, I will find a way to protect him in my death too" he frowned.

"You're not going to die"

She chuckled and shook her head. "Everyone dies, in my case it's likely to be sooner. But I'm okay with that. If I die protecting Harry or killing Voldemort then I'll be happy"

"You have a whole life ahead of you"

"I've lived long enough" she said resolutely and the look on her face made him drop the subject.

"What else can you tell me about Harry?"

She was going to answer when they heard the sounds of bare feet padding down the hallway. They looked up to see Sirius stretching and yawning.

"What are you two doing up?" he asked through a yawn and they chuckled at him.

"Discussing Harry from the future" Hermione replied.

Sirius walked over to them and sat down on the other side of Hermione. He lifted the blanket and draped it over himself.

"Continue" he grinned and she laughed.

"Okay, well you saw in my memories that Harry was a good flyer" they nodded. "But Harry was better than you were shown. In our first year, Harry joined the Gryffindor team, under McGonagall's orders. He was the youngest Hogwarts seeker in a century" she said proudly.

"Whoa" they said amazed and Hermione smiled.

She pointed her wand at her head and pulled out memories of every match Harry played and they started on the screen. The two Marauders watched enraptured.

"I can't believe he caught the snitch in his mouth" James said awed and Hermione laughed.

"He jumped off his broom to catch the snitch?" Sirius spoke in wonder.

"Yep, don't forget that he won a game in under five minutes" Hermione added and they laughed in disbelief.

"I also thought he'd be a chaser, like me" James commented.

Hermione snorted. "Nope, he's rubbish at it, he couldn't even catch the quaffle on the ground" they laughed at her.

"What else can you tell us about him?" Sirius asked.

"Hmm, we once got in a massive argument that lasted for two months. He wouldn't even look at me"

"Why?" James frowned.

"Harry was sent a new broom by Sirius. At the time we didn't know that he was innocent and the entire wizarding world was convinced that he escaped Azkaban to complete his work and kill Harry. The broom was sent anonymously and coincidentally at the time Harry needed a new broom because his was destroyed by the Whomping Willow. I told him to take it to McGonagall to get it checked out for any jinxes and curses. He refused because it was a Firebolt, the best broom in the world. So, I told the Professors myself. The broom was confiscated and Harry and Ron were furious, not just Harry and Ron though, the entire Gryffindor house. But I would rather them call me a traitor than risk Harry's life. Honestly" she huffed. "It wouldn't have been the first time we had dealt with a jinxed broom, anyway, he was just being an idiot"

"I can't believe he fell out with you just because you had his broom confiscated" Sirius said amazed.

"Well the thing with Harry is he is a very emotional person. He's pants at lying and even worse at covering his emotions. You can see them clear as day written across his face. And he has a short fuse, but he will take the time to analyse the situation. It depends on who he's mad at I suppose" she shrugged.

"What else?"

"Harry had his first kiss in his fifth year"

Their eyes lit up in amusement.

"Who?" the asked quickly and she laughed.

"Cho Chang. I remember his dazed expression when he walked into the common room. It was after a D.A meeting. Ron asked him how it was and he replied 'wet'" they cringed. "She had been crying" the cringe disappeared and they looked at her confused. "They were talking about Cedric Diggory, the other Hogwarts Triwizard Champion that was murdered by Voldemort. He was Cho's boyfriend, she had all these conflicted emotions regarding Cedric and Harry. When I pointed out what she was likely feeling, Ron proceed to argue that one person couldn't feel all that without bursting. At which I responded by saying not everyone had the emotion range of a teaspoon" they laughed at her. "Anyway, as I've told you before, Harry and Cho finally went on their first date which was a disaster and they ended it at that" she shrugged.

"Anything you can share about my godson?"

"Fred and George once slipped a prank sweet in with his regular ones. He turned into a rabbit, and as a fox, I had to fight my instincts to chase after him and eat him" they laughed at her.

"So what are you doing on Saturday night?" James asked.

She shrugged. "The usual. Making plans and carrying out research on the whereabouts of the last two Horcruxes. Fabian and Gideon wanted to take me out for the night around Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade"

"What?" they both said quickly.

"What did you say?" Sirius rushed out.

"I said I couldn't and I pointed out I had been to Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade many times. At which they pointed out that I hadn't seen them in this time. And I haven't seen what Tom and Rosie look like almost fifteen years younger" she shrugged.

"Why did you say no?" James asked curiously.

"I am here to save lives and to stop a war. I am here to protect Harry and destroy Voldemort. I am not here to have fun"

They frowned.

"Mia, you can still save lives and have fun. One night won't make a difference. You haven't left the apartment in weeks, with the exception of going to Order meetings. You deserve to have some time to have fun" she frowned and the look on his face stopped her from arguing.

"Fine" she mumbled. "I'll owl Fabian and Gideon and tell them I've changed my mind" she then removed the blanket from her lap, stood up and left the room to carry out her morning routine since the sun had risen.

Sirius looked at James.

"What the hell was that?" he slapped him upside the head.

"Ow, what was that for?" James glared at Sirius.

"For convincing her to go on a date with the twins" Sirius replied grumpily.

"It's not a date" James muttered.

"Yes, it is. At least they see it that way. I knew they had a thing for her, I've been watching the way they act around her for weeks. They're always flirting with her, not that she notices" he grumbled.

"What are you talking about? They don't like her" James spoke, though he didn't know if he was trying to convince Sirius or himself.

Sirius gave him a look that implied he was the stupidest person in the world. "Right, and I'm a Tibetan Monk"

James frowned. He had long ago decided he fancied the young witch and he had just unintentionally sent her into the arms of two men, that apparently, had also taken a liking to her. Suddenly a thought hit James and he looked up at Sirius.

"You like her" James stated.

"Point?" he didn't bother denying it.

"You like her" he said again, but this time to himself.

"We've already established that" he rolled his eyes. He watched James carefully and then a thought hit him like a spark of lightning.

"You like her too" Sirius stated with his eyes narrowed.

James sighed, nodded and flopped his head back against the back of the couch.

"What are we going to do?" he muttered.

Not only did he fancy the pants off the witch, his best friend, no, his brother, did too, and he had to compete with the Prewett twins as well. Just when he thought his life couldn't get any more complicated.

They stayed in silence for a little while, mulling over their thoughts.

"We'll fight fire with fire" Sirius spoke breaking the silence. James looked at him confused.

"What?"

"Well" Sirius cleared his throat and shifted. The foreign gesture caught James' attention immediately. "I was thinking, triad relationships aren't that bad, they're uncommon, but they do happen so no one will look down on us and well... she's only two years younger so the age gap isn't an issue. I'm not a man that shares his women, but if I had to, I suppose I could do it with you"

James gawked at him.

"Are you saying that we both vie for her attention? At the same time?"

Sirius nodded. "Fabian and Gideon are" he shrugged.

"They're twins"

"And we're best friends, brothers even. There isn't much difference between our relationship and theirs if you think about it"

"But still... sharing Mia, I can't imagine that going down well. She wouldn't even go out for a drink, let alone dating"

"So we change her mind" Sirius said simply.

"But..."

"Just think about it. I can deal with you liking the same woman as me, if, we court her together. I don't want to have to compete with you, it's already a pain in the arse that I have to go against the twins" he huffed.

"You're just annoyed they beat you to it" he said seeing the funny side of the whole thing. "Here she is, this beautiful witch that travels back in time to save lives and she's managed to unwittingly capture the affection of four wizards" he said laughing. Sirius looked him like he was a few sickles short of a galleon, before he started laughing, understanding James' point.

"I'll think about it and let you know. I'm not sure how it will work out either way" James finally said when he stopped laughing and then he stood up and walked back to his room.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Bring on the competition**

* * *

AN: AGirlLostInTime – I think I'll stick with little unsolved disputes for now, and we won't see the date with the twins, but we will see the after effects.

TheGirlWithTheGunAndPants – I thought it would be ironic that they accidentally convince her to go on a date with them.

Super MKatR – Moody and Dumbledore are going to continue to be a thorn in Hermione's side.

AdelineMalfoy16 - I don't think I'll put little Tonks in the story, just mention her for now. I may change my mind though later on.

SereniteRose – No, Hermione and Dumbledore will not get along in the future, I don't plan for them to work together, I already have Dumbledore's future planned out, I've got to work out a believable way to get him there. I plan to have Voldemort coming back into the story within the next 10 – 15 chapters. Maybe sooner if I get to the point in the story I need to be at earlier than expected.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment – Friday 11th December 1981**

Hermione was sat on the living room floor with Harry. James, Remus and Sirius had left a couple of hours before the full moon rose in order to prepare and Remus had taken the last of his potion for that month. Everyone laughed at the disgusted look on his face as he swallowed the last of it, but then Remus smiled in anticipation as to what changes it would bring. They promptly left afterwards leaving Hermione and Harry alone in the apartment.

They had baked some cookies, read some books, made a fort out of blankets and pillows and Harry had fallen asleep on the floor, on top of a soft pillows and blankets. Hermione was watching him as he slept soundly and she smiled. She knew Harry would never have nightmares like he did in her other time line and that thought brought her peace.

But there was plenty left to do before that could happen. In over a week's time, once the students had left Hogwarts, she and the Marauders would head over to the castle to take care of the first Horcrux.

But she still hadn't confirmed her suspicions about the ring and the diary. She needed help she realised. All the research in the world wouldn't give her the answers she needed.

She flopped back laying down on the blanketed floor and she sighed and rubbed her hands over her face.

She heard a chuckle and immediately sat up with her wand pointed.

"Dear child, please remove your wand from pointing in my direction" the voice said amused.

Hermione sighed in relief and then dropped her wand arm and chuckled. In front of Hermione, with red hair and green eyes, in an ethereal white glow and a flowing white dress, stood Lily Potter.

"Sorry, Lily, you scared the Gryffindor out of me"

Lily laughed softly. "I doubt that, you have an endless amount of Gryffindor in you" Lily responded and Hermione smiled. "I'm glad to see you have made progress in your mission, but I couldn't help but notice you seem a little frazzled, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Can you tell me where the final two Horcruxes are?" Lily chuckled and shook her head. "I have my suspicions but I'm not one hundred percent certain. Can you confirm my suspicions?"

"Maybe, all I can do is answer yes or no"

"I can work with that" Hermione nodded. "The diary, was it in the possession of the Malfoys?"

"I believe so, yes"

"Is it located in Malfoy Manor?"

"The last time I checked, yes"

Hermione sighed in both relief and annoyance. How the hell was she supposed to get the diary?

"Okay, the Gaunt family ring. Dumbledore found it in my time; did he visit the last living member of the Gaunts -except Voldemort- in Azkaban?"

"In your time, yes, he did"

"After this visit was he made aware of the location of the ring?"

"Yes"

"Do the Gaunts have any properties left in England?"

Lily smiled widely at Hermione and she took that as a good sign, she was on the right track.

"Yes"

"Does this property happen to be where the Riddle family resided?"

"Yes"

"Little Hangleton?"

"Yes"

Hermione laughed disbelievingly. She had figured out where the two final Horcruxes where, now she had to figure out how to get them.

"Thank you for your help, Lily"

"It was my pleasure, my dear"

"I. I. I'm sorry I couldn't save you" Hermione rushed out and Lily smiled knowingly.

"Now, Hermione, remember what I told you? If you are meant to die, then you are meant to die. Sending you back here saved many lives, but I, well, I was obviously not one of them that needed saving. And I am fine with that. I have served my purpose and now I live in peace, with my parents. You'd be surprised how eventful the afterlife is" Lily laughed. "Please do not fret, I do not hold you responsible for my death. In fact, I am grateful to you. I want to thank you. For taking care of my family, you are helping them to the see the light. They have hope because of you and their lives will once more be happy"

Hermione bit her lip.

"James said something to me earlier, he said that I should be the new head of The Order. Apparently I am slowly taking over from Dumbledore. Sirius and Remus have noticed it too. But I'm not a leader and I didn't mean to"

"I know you didn't, but I told you before you were sent here that _you_ would be the one to lead people out of the darkness and into the peace. You, not Albus. As much as I respect the man, he can't be trusted. I learned that from years of watching him after my death, he is a truly brilliant wizard, but I think the power has gone to his head a little. You can end this war for good, and with far less casualties. You must be the one"

"So I will be the head of The Order whether I like it or not?" Lily laughed. "I'm a rubbish leader though"

"No, you're actually a brilliant one. People come to you for your help, for your advice, for your kindness and fairness. You listen to people, you analyse the situation and you are rational and wise. You make plans and contingency plans before heading off to capture fugitive Death Eaters. You put precautions in place before you take a step and you would never send people to do something you wouldn't do yourself. Hermione, you are what a leader should be. Just continue to do what you are doing, and soon enough people will recognise you as the head of The Order of the Phoenix. You don't even have to do anything, with Albus' behaviour and actions he's making a way for you to take over by himself" Hermione nodded solemnly.

"Just one more question before you leave?" Hermione spoke and Lily nodded smiling. "Harry, how did he survive this time round? You weren't here to sacrifice yourself for him, so how did he survive?"

"You already know the answer, Hermione, you just have to search inside yourself to find it" with that said Lily took one look at the sleeping Harry and she smiled softly.

She stepped back and then looked back to Hermione. "You have my blessing" Lily spoke smiling kindly and Hermione frowned.

"Blessing? Blessing for what?" she asked confused.

Lily just smiled and then with a flash of blinding white light, she disappeared. Hermione sighed.

"Well, at least you know where all the Horcruxes are" she said to herself.

She looked out of the window to see the full moon high in the sky and she sighed.

"Hope you Marauders are okay" Hermione spoke softly. She then changed into her animagus form and curled up next to Harry, keeping her eyes on the full moon.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment – Saturday 12th December 1981**

James, Sirius and an exhausted but healthy looking Remus entered the apartment, the morning after the full moon.

They stopped when they saw the fort like creation that Hermione and Harry had made the night before. The couches had been moved further apart and into the middle of the room, and the coffee table and arm chairs had been moved out of the way. Blankets were being held up with sticking charms and the floor was covered with blankets and pillows. There were books left open and surrounding one side of the fort and a plate of cookies, a bottle of milk and a glass of milk off to the side.

In the middle of the homemade fort slept a brown fox and Harry, who had his head resting on the fox and his arms around her neck, with the fox having one paw and its bushy tail, resting over the sleeping child protectively.

They all smiled and chuckled at the sight.

"Seems someone has had a busy night" Sirius spoke quietly, hoping not to wake either of them. But it was in vain as the fox slowly opened its eyes and they landed on the three figures looking down at her.

The fox yawned and tried to move, but couldn't because Harry had a tight grip on her. The others chuckled at the predicament she was in and the fox narrowed its eyes at them.

The fox slowly managed to untangle itself from the sleeping child and she stretched languidly, before turning back into Hermione.

"Morning" she yawned.

"Morning" they replied smiling.

"So, how was it?" she asked Remus, she could tell he was exhausted, but he found it in him to beam widely at her.

"It was amazing, thank you" he said and he walked over to her, helped her up from the floor and hugged her tightly. She chuckled and rubbed his back.

"It's the least I could do for you, Remus, did it work completely? Do you think my alterations affected the potion?" they pulled away from the hug.

"Well I don't know how it's supposed to affect me, having only used it for the first time, but I had control over myself. I woke up this morning and I can remember everything. I woke up without any new self-induced injuries as well" he grinned and she laughed.

She walked over to the cookies and picked up the plate and offered him some.

"Chocolate chip, Harry and I made them last night, they don't actually taste that bad considering Harry tried to put mustard in with the other ingredients" they laughed at her. "They're still warm, stasis charms" he took one and took a bite.

"They're actually quite good" he mumbled around the cookie and she grinned.

"Why does he get a cookie and I don't?" Sirius whined childishly and Hermione rounded on him.

"It was a full moon last night, he needs his chocolate, you just need a good slap upside the head"

"I'll do it" James spoke and then quickly brought his hand up and smacked Sirius over the back of the head.

Sirius glared at James before smacking him over the back of the head. They glared at each and then a fight ensured with James in a headlock, courtesy of Sirius.

"Boys" Hermione murmured and she rolled her eyes and Remus chuckled.

"Right, Remus, go to bed and I'll make breakfast, when you wake I'll have a feast ready for you" he was going to protest. "Bed now" she commanded with a glare and pointing towards the corridor that housed the bedrooms.

Sirius and James sniggered as Remus promptly turned around and left for his room.

"So much for the big bad werewolf" Sirius muttered.

Hermione turned around. "Sirius Orion Black" she hissed, not wanting to wake Harry, who was fidgeting in his sleep. "You let James go right this instant"

"And if I don't?" he asked winking cheekily.

Hermione put down the plate of cookies and grabbed her wand from the floor. Sirius immediately let go of James and he looked smug.

"And you can wipe that look off your face as well, James Charlus Potter" James' smug look dropped from his face and Sirius smirked.

"I'm going to make breakfast, Harry will be waking soon" Hermione informed them.

"How do you know?" Sirius asked intrigued.

"I can feel it" she shrugged. "Besides, he's fidgeting and his breathing pattern has changed"

"Bloody handy you are" he said and they laughed. "By the way, I'm liking what you've done with the place" he gestured to the fort. "We're keeping it this way permanently" she rolled her eyes.

Hermione walked into the kitchen and set about pulling out food and she started making breakfast.

Sirius and James walked into the room twenty minutes later, the latter carrying a fully awake Harry.

"Morning, Harry" Hermione greeted.

"Mimi" he called happily and she laughed.

"So, did you have fun last night with Mia, Little Man?" James asked as he sat Harry down in the chair next to him.

"Mimi" Harry spoke giggling and clapping his hands and they laughed at him as Hermione placed breakfast on the table.

"Did you have any nightmares last night?" Sirius asked calmly.

"No" she frowned. "No, I didn't actually" she looked at Harry with her head cocked to the side and then she shrugged. "So, how was it?" Hermione asked taking her seat.

"I've never seen anything like it" James spoke awed. "For five years we've been with him during the full moon and it was..."

"Seeing such a difference in him was remarkable" Sirius picked up. "I think this potion of yours might actually help him more than you realise" she raised an eyebrow. "It'll make him stop seeing himself as a monster, because he won't be a monster. He has control now, he still has to change, but he won't hurt anyone" Hermione smiled.

"There's something else as well" Hermione said.

"What?"

Hermione knew there was no use in looking around for eavesdroppers but out of habit she did.

"Remus has a mate" she whispered.

"Well, yeah, us. We're his friends" Sirius said confused.

Hermione laughed and shook her head. "No, he has a mate. A mate mate. Like a veela"

James' eyes widened in understanding.

"Shut up" he said in shock and she laughed at him. "Honestly?"

"I swear on my magic, Remus has a mate. His perfect match, his other half. He was a right pain in the arse though. He convinced himself that he would ruin her life, not only because he was a werewolf, but because there is a thirteen year age gap between them. Of course no one cared but him, poor Tonks. Took her nearly a year just to get him to kiss her and even then he was injured from the battle in sixth year, she actually pinned him down" she laughed.

"Tonks?" Sirius said confused and Hermione grinned.

"Nymphadora Tonks, your cousin" his eyes widened. "They got married and had a child, Teddy Remus Lupin. He was the most adorable thing you have ever seen, a Metamorphmagus like his mum"

"Bloody hell" he whispered and he sat back in his chair. "Moony's going to be a dad in the future"

Hermione laughed.

"Even better, he made me Teddy's godmother and Harry his godfather"

James grinned. "Well that's not going to change. When was he born?"

"8th April 1998, not even a month before the Final Battle, I told you Remus died that day, but so did Tonks. Teddy was orphaned" she said sadly. "Hopefully, Remus, will get over his problem with him being a werewolf and not let it affect his relationship with Tonks. Time was waisted when we didn't have it, now that I'm here, maybe they will meet sooner, maybe they'll have more than one child"

"How old is she now?" Sirius asked.

"Eight" she shrugged. "But don't tell Remus that he has a mate or who she is. He'll have a melt down and he's not ready to know yet, but trust me; our werewolf will have a happy future" she said and they were pleased at the news.

"What would happen if they met?"

"Well, Moony would instantly recognise who Tonks was and he would do anything to protect her. He would want to be around her constantly. I think you should have a talk with Andromeda. Let her know the situation. It's best that we keep Tonks away from Moony for as long as possible, at least until she graduates"

"That not for another ten years" Sirius said outraged.

"I know" she sighed. "But we have to protect Remus, if he discovers that he has a mate, let alone her identity, it will hurt not only him, but Tonks as well. Like I said, he will feel the constant need to be around her, at least until he marks her as his mate. That year that Remus and Moony were fighting over Tonks was awful. Both Remus and Tonks suffered. They became sullen, they hardly talked, they barely ate, they barely smiled. That was because they both knew about each other, but Remus was refusing to acknowledge it. Tonks cannot be marked until she is at least of age, but then she would still be in Hogwarts and have to spend a year away from Remus which would make them both moody and a downright pain in the arse to live with, it's what's best for them both"

"It won't hurt them, not telling them?" James asked.

"I promise you, them not knowing about each other will not hurt them. They'll continue on with their lives, they'll have fun, they'll laugh, they'll date other people, all until they meet and then they will want no one but each other. It'll just be like it is now, except we know what their futures are leading them to" she shrugged.

"How does Andromeda take this news?" Sirius asked.

"She was fine with it, ecstatic really, Remus being her daughter's mate means that Tonks will never be unhappy or unloved, she would never have her heart broken. Ted, her father, was exactly the same. Remus was welcomed into the family. Still, you should tell her, you'll see for yourself"

James let out a whistle. "Moony's going to marry and have a kid, who would've thought it?" he said and they chuckled.

* * *

Later that night Hermione was dressing, she had gone into Muggle London to buy a new dress and a new pair of shoes. She would've just worn jeans and a shirt but the twins had insisted that they go for dinner first, so she had to buy more appropriate clothing.

Hermione had just finished putting her shoes on and she stood up to look at herself in the mirror.

She was wearing a strapless white cocktail dress with a sweetheart neckline that fell to her mid thigh and it flowed when she moved. The bodice was covered in lace and had a silver bejewelled belt around the waist. She had on silver, sparkly strappy heels and she left her hair down in soft, shiny ringlets and it fell to the middle of her back. She put on a few silver bangle bracelets and her moon pendent rested at the valley of her breasts. With a few spells that Ginny had taught her, she applied some nude, glittery eye shadow, a clear coat of lip gloss and a barely visible amount of mascara. She grabbed her wand and slipped it into her beaded bag which she placed a disillusionment charm on and then she nodded to herself in the mirror.

"It'll do" she said and then she grabbed the door handle and walked out of her room to the living room.

Remus, Sirius, James and Harry were all sat in the living room playing a game with a bunch of stuffed dragons in the fort.

When they heard her footsteps they looked up. Remus smiled brightly, Harry giggled and clapped and James and Sirius gawked, with their eyes wide and mouths hitting the floor.

"Well?" she asked nervously.

Sirius and James made a few strangled noises at their attempt to speak and Remus smirked.

"You look beautiful, Mia" Remus spoke smiling.

"Thanks" she muttered and looked down with a blush and he chuckled at her.

"I thought you were only going for drinks"

"Change of plans, apparently it wouldn't be very gentlemanly to not feed me before they get me drunk" she rolled her eyes and he laughed.

"Are they picking you up?"

"Yeah, should be here any minute" just as she spoke there was a knock at the door. "Speak of the devil" she walked over to the door, kissing Harry on the forehead as she walked past and she opened the door when she reached it. Fabian and Gideon were on the other side and when they saw her they gaped, before they got their wits about them and they smiled brightly.

"You look stunning, -"

"- Magnificent, -"

"- Ravishing really" Hermione blushed, but rolled her eyes and laughed when they bowed to her, in that oh so familiar way.

"And you two look quite handsome" she spoke truthfully. _'What is with that family and handsome men?'_ she thought. Both Bill and Charlie were handsome, as was Fred and George, -or they would be- but now she realised that Fabian and Gideon were quite handsome too.

Fabian was wearing a pair of white trainers, smart blue jeans, a blue button down shirt and a black tie. Gideon was wearing a pair of white trainers, smart blue jeans, a slightly darker blue button down shirt and a black tie. They both had on a long black winter coat, their red hair was shaggy and their sapphire eyes sparkled. Unlike the Weasley men, Fabian and Gideon didn't have visible freckles but they both had a scar. Fabian's was above his left eyebrow and Gideon's was under his right ear lobe.

She accioed her long white winter coat that she had bought and slipped it on.

"I'll see you guys later, don't wait up for me. If you need me for anything send a patronus" Hermione told the others.

"Have fun" Remus called as she closed the door behind her.

"Is she bloody trying to give me a heart attack?" Sirius almost yelled and he flopped against the floor on his back. Remus smirked. "Blimey, she sure knows how to knock a guy off his feet, and where the hell did she get that dress? I've never seen her wear anything but pajamas and jeans. Merlin, did you see her?"

"They're taking her to dinner" James said grumpily. Sirius turned to look at him.

"I told you they would turn it into a date" he glowered.

James groaned and flopped on to his back. "Prewett twins one: Marauders zero"

"Does someone want to explain why you are so bothered by her having a date with the Prewett twins?" Remus asked, though he already knew the answer. For the past few weeks he had noticed the looks Sirius and James sent her way.

"No" they both glared at him and he laughed.

"Doesn't matter, I already know you both fancy her. I'm just waiting to see how it will play out"

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"Well, not only do you have to compete with the twins, who are winning by the way, you have to convince her to see you as something other than her best friend's father and godfather. You're forgetting that Sirius was her friend, almost like her uncle. And she is bound to Harry through a sibling bond. You may not be related by blood, but she may see that it technically makes you a father of sorts"

James and Sirius grimaced.

"So?" Sirius asked turning to James.

"We court her together, it's both of us, or neither of us" they nodded.

"Time to start planning" James nodded in agreement. "How about I do all the wooing? I am the best out of the two of us"

"Oi, I'm great with women" James argued.

"It took you seven years to get a date with the girl you had a crush on" Sirius pointed out and James scowled. "Leave it to me"

Remus chuckled. _'Good luck'_ he thought.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment – Sunday 13th December 1981**

During the early hours of the morning Hermione stumbled into the apartment shushing the incredibly drunk Prewett twins. She giggled when Fabian tripped over the leg of the coffee table and then Gideon tripped over Fabian who was sprawled on the floor.

"Are you alright?" she asked through her drunken and poorly concealed laughter as she shut the door.

"Yeah" they both groaned and she laughed again. She locked the door and proceeded to stumble over to them to help them up.

Once up they wobbled until they gained their footing and then they all stared at each other before they burst out laughing.

Fabian and Gideon both had the first few buttons of their shirts undone, Fabian's tie was tied around his head and Gideon's tie was tied loosely around Hermione's neck and she couldn't remember why she had it on.

Hermione's laughter suddenly stopped when Fabian took a hold of her hand and pulled her to him.

Before she could speak he kissed her and regardless of her shock she kissed him back.

Despite what people thought about her, she wasn't the Virginal Princess of Gryffindor. She had lost her virginity in her fifth year and she had a fleeting relationship during her sixth year. She wasn't a slut like most of the girls that had been in her year, but she wasn't exactly innocent either. All in all she had slept with two separate men. It had been nearly two years since she had allowed someone to touch her intimately. Despite the fact that she would never sleep with someone for a one night stand, her inebriated brain and body allowed the kiss to happen, plus, whatever else would likely happen that night.

Fabian held her flush against him and deepened the kiss. Hermione took it one step further, reached behind her and grabbed Gideon's shirt and pulled him to her. He took her actions as permission and swept her hair aside and he started placing kisses against her neck.

Hermione shifted and started pushing Fabian towards her room with Gideon following behind. They struggled to open the door and when they did, they all fell over landing on the floor of Hermione's room.

They all started laughing drunkenly and it caught the attention of Sirius. He came out of his room to see three people in a pile of tangled limbs on the floor and laughing hysterically. He rolled his eyes and then they darkened when he noticed Hermione's flushed face and slightly puffy red lips.

With his wand he cast a spell to knock them out. They all immediately stopped laughing and fell to sleep. Sirius levitated the twins onto Hermione's bed and then he picked her up from the floor and took her to his room.

He removed her shoes, put her in his bed and covered her with the blanket.

"Prewett twins two: Marauders one" he muttered. He then changed into Padfoot, climbed on the bed and curled up at the end of the bed and fell asleep.

* * *

Hermione awoke with a headache that felt as though she had been run over by the Hogwarts Express. She groaned and pulled the covers over her head, the room being too bright.

She heard a chuckle. She peaked out from the blanket to see an amused Sirius and James stood, leaning against either side of the door frame. She glared at them and then they laughed.

"What are you doing in my room?" she grumbled.

"Actually it's my room" Sirius answered and she just shrugged in reply.

"How are you feeling?" James asked.

"Don't shout" she groaned and they laughed again.

"Come on, have some breakfast, you'll feel better"

"That makes me want to throw up" she groaned and they laughed.

"Come on, up you get" James said walking over to the bed to pull the blanket away from her.

"I can't" she whined and he chuckled.

He leaned over, scooped his hands under her and lifted her from the bed and into his arms. "I feel sick" she whined at being jostled about and he chuckled.

He had one arm around her waist and the other supporting her knees and her arms went around his neck.

"You'll be fine"

"This is your fault; you're the one who told me to have fun"

"I've got a hangover potion with your name on" James informed her and then he carried her out of the room and past Sirius who winked.

"Prewett twins two: Marauders two" he whispered and James shook his head amused.

James carried her into the kitchen and Remus laughed at the state of her when James put her down in a chair. Sirius put a cup of coffee in front of her and she grimaced.

"Had a good night?" Remus asked amused as Harry munched on a slice of banana and giggled at her.

"I can't remember"

They laughed at her and she winced.

"What do you remember?" Sirius asked.

She couldn't remember much other than she and the twins had drank a lot and had fun, just like James told her too.

She remembered going for dinner in a semi-formal restaurant, she remembered ordering her meal and talking animatedly with the twins about their lives. She remembered going to both the Leaky Cauldron and flooing to the Three Broomsticks for drinks. After that they went to a wizarding club in London, followed by another wizarding club, followed by another. She couldn't remember much past Fabian and Gideon table dancing before they pulled her up onto the table. And then she was at the apartment.

"Dinner at the restaurant, drinks at the Leaky Cauldron and Three Broomsticks, followed by three clubs, table dancing and then walking into the apartment"

"Table dancing?" Remus said amused and she glared at him and then winced when it hurt her head.

"That's it? You don't remember anything else?" Sirius asked carefully. _'Like almost shagging the twins?'_ he thought.

"No, just opening the door and walking in, I can't remember anything after that"

"Here" James put the hangover potion in her coffee and she groaned.

"Thank you" she picked up her mug and downed half of the coffee, she could already feel the effects of the night before washing away. "You are my hero" James sent a smug smile to Sirius and he chuckled.

 _'Prewett twins two: Marauders four'_ Sirius thought smugly.

They heard a bang and a curse.

"What was that?" Hermione asked.

"The twins, the passed out and I levitated them into your bed, and you stayed in my room whilst I was in Padfoot form" Sirius shrugged.

"Just how much did I drink?" she asked herself.

The twins stumbled down the hallway and over to the kitchen table and they slumped down in seats and they all chuckled at them. They looked even worse than she did before she took the potion.

"Morning" they grumbled out.

"Never doing that again" Hermione said.

"Agreed" the twins moaned a reply.

Remus had made breakfast that morning and the food was on the table and they tucked in. The twins looked a little green and since James had given the last vial of hangover potion to Hermione, they were out of luck.

So they accioed their coats and they flooed back to their own apartment to recover.

"So, I went out, got drunk and did some table dancing, I had fun. Now can I get on with my mission?" she sarcastically asked.

"Yes, you may" James replied. She stood up, mock saluted him and then left the kitchen with them laughing at her.

"Oh, by the way" she popped her head back into the kitchen.

"Yeah?"

"I know where the final two Horcruxes are, I just need to figure out a way to get them now" they grinned at her.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Fireworks**

 **The Burrow - Monday 14th December 1981**

Hermione, Remus, James, Harry and Sirius apparated just outside of the Burrow's wards and they all made their way to the very familiar house.

Hermione knocked on the door and Mrs Weasley opened it. She ushered everyone in and away from the newly dusted snowy grounds and as usual Mrs Weasley hugged everyone, except when it came to Hermione, she held on for longer and squeezed so tight, Hermione thought her spine had been dislodged.

"It's good to see you again, dear" she whispered in Hermione's ear. The Marauders left the two alone and headed into the living room where the rest of the Weasleys were located.

"It's good to be back here, back to safety" Mrs Weasley pulled away and she had tears in eyes.

"I can feel it" Mrs Weasley spoke and Hermione looked confused. "Your magic, dear" she clarified. "The Burrow was built with magic. For some reason I can feel your magic mixing with the magic of the Burrow, almost like it recognises you, like you've been here before, like this is your home" Hermione started crying and Mrs Weasley pulled her back into a hug and rubbed her back comfortingly.

"I have no way to repay you for what you have done for my family, both in this time frame and your original time frame. Fabian and Gideon told me that you were tortured for information about my family and you never revealed anything. I am sorry that happened to you my child"

"It won't happen to anyone else; that is why I am here, to protect everyone"

"But who protects you?" Mrs Weasley asked and her question went unanswered as Hermione wiped away her tears and entered the very memorable living room and it was bustling with activity.

Three year old Fred and George appeared to be annoying Percy as he sat on an arm chair reading a book with his rat in hand. An almost four month old Ginny was being held by her father, who was taking to Remus and James. Ron and Harry were sat on the floor playing together with stuffed dragons. A recently turned nine year old Charlie was play fighting with Sirius, and a recently turned eleven year old Bill, noticed her enter the room and he stood up and beamed.

"I knew you couldn't resist my charms" he said smugly. Everyone stopped when he said that and looked at Hermione, before they burst out laughing.

"Looks like you have another competitor to worry about" Remus sniggered to James and Sirius who rolled their eyes amused.

"And it's great to see you too Bill" Hermione spoke amused and she sat down on one of the couches.

"Mimi" Harry called from his place on the floor and Hermione looked down at him. "Roro" he called and pointed at Ron before clapping his hands together and they laughed at him. Hermione jumped off the couch and sat on the floor next to the two boys.

"And The Golden Trio is back together again" she commented and the adults chuckled whilst the children looked confused. She took out her wand and went about casting some bubbles that floated in the air and the two boys clapped their hands, giggling trying to catch them.

"Hey, Percy" Hermione spoke and Percy shyly smiled at her. "How is the little guy doing?"

"His name is Eugene" he spoke and he held the rat up so she could see. "I've been taking good care of him like I promised"

"I knew would Percy and Eugene is a great name" she said proudly and he beamed at her.

Next she grabbed her beaded bag and pulled out another book on dragons.

"Charlie, I have a late birthday present for you" Charlie's birthday had been two days ago. He stopped play fighting with Sirius and plopped down next to her on the floor. Hermione handed him the book and his eyes widened.

"Thanks, Mia" he almost yelled in excitement. He flung his arms around her neck and gave her a quick hug before pulling away and delving into the book and people shook their heads amused.

"Where's my present?" Bill pouted. Hermione chuckled, motioned for him to come closer and then she pecked him on the cheek and he sighed and rubbed his cheek in a daze, causing laughter from the adults.

Fred and George stepped away from Percy and stood in front of her, and there it was, their sparkling turquoise eyes that made her heart clench.

As much as she loved Percy, she and him had never really been that close, whereas she had grown up with Fred and George. She had argued with them, she had fought with them, she had eventually agreed to help them with their more difficult products and she had been to battle with them. For that reason, Fred's death affected her more and she remembered seeing the usual sparkle in his eyes being dull in his death.

Her breath caught and she stopped breathing. She felt like the world was spinning and she had a pain in her chest. Before she knew it Sirius was on his knees beside her and rubbing comforting circles on her back.

"Breathe, just breathe and you'll be fine" he murmured into her ear so only she could hear. "Nothing will happen to him, to them. They are safe because of you and nothing will hurt them. Okay? Just breathe"

Hermione listened to his words and slowly she started taking deep breaths until her breathing was back to normal and she no longer felt light headed.

She nodded to herself and sent a grateful smile to Sirius. _'Prewett twins two: Marauders five'_ he thought smugly.

She smiled brightly at Fred and George and they grinned back.

"I'm Fred -"

"- I'm George -"

"- What's your name?" she stifled a chuckle, looks as though they started early. Not only that, they had swapped names, but Hermione could tell them apart even at their age of three.

"My name's Mia"

Fred and George both grasped her hand in theirs and together they shook it melodramatically. Much like the time they did to Harry in third year, when they were making fun of Percy and she laughed along with everyone else.

"Do we get presents?" they asked clearly, she wasn't at all surprised at how advanced their speech seemed to be for their age; she knew how intelligent they would be.

Hermione smiled. "Of course. I have a surprise for you both, but after lunch. It needs to be done outside" they grinned at each other.

"Right, everyone, lunch" Mrs Weasley called. Everyone made their way to the kitchen and they found seats around the magically enlarged table.

The food was dished out and conversation flowed and laughter was loud.

"So, Hermione, what can you tell me about my children?" Mrs Weasley asked, making sure none of the children heard her.

Hermione smiled. "Well, Bill, I didn't spend much time around him since he was always out of the country for work. He was a curse break for Gringotts"

"A curse breaker?" she asked pleased.

"Not just any curse breaker, one of the best in Britain. I remember you once visited him the summer before third year in Egypt. He travelled a lot, but he was brilliant at it. He received brilliant marks in his OWL's and NEWT's, oh, and he was head boy, and he played chaser on the quidditch team" Molly beamed.

"Charlie?"

"Again, because Charlie was so much older I rarely spent time with him. But Charlie was a dragon tamer in Romania" Mrs Weasley's eyes widened. "Again, one of the best and he was incredible with the dragons, I saw him at the Final Battle with one and it was mesmerising to watch how they interacted. How the dragon seemed to have complete trust in Charlie" Hermione said proudly and looking down the table at him to see him engrossed in the book she gave him and she chuckled. "He had his fair share of tattoos and scars but they come with the territory"

"Tattoos? Scars?" she said horrified. Hermione chuckled.

"Yes, but even though you disagreed with his career choice and the fact that he lived in another country, you were still proud of him. I know he's going to enter the same career path judging by the way he's gripping that book" she said amused. "Anyway, he received good results on his OWL's and NEWT's and he was the Captain of Gryffindor quidditch team. He played seeker, quite good from what I remember being told" she said amused.

"Percy?"

"Percy was very efficient, he abided by every school rule, I don't even think he snuck out of the common room for a midnight snack" Hermione chuckled along with Mrs Weasley. "He was prefect and head boy and he received good OWL's and NEWT's. He worked at the Ministry and then he was promoted to Junior Assistant for the Minister of Magic"

"Fred and George?"

"Well I've already told you quite a lot about them. They are very mischievous and let me tell you, it's only going to get worse. Don't be surprised as they get older if you hear bangs coming from their room and smoke pouring out from under the door" Mrs Weasley groaned and Hermione laughed. "They got three OWL's each and didn't stay for their NEWT's and I don't blame them for leaving with that hideous woman parading around. But this time it might be different, they left a month before their exams, maybe they'll stick around this time" she shrugged. "I have no doubt that they will open their joke shop and you saw from my memories how successful and brilliant they are" Mrs Weasley nodded with a smile.

"Ron?"

Hermione sighed. "Ron, he was... he was brilliant at wizards chess, I've never seen anyone beat him. He made prefect and he got fairly good grades on his OWL's. We never did our NEWT's because we had to go on the run and complete our mission after Dumbledore died" Molly put her hand over Hermione's and gave it a squeeze. "Ron was hot tempered, he had a very short fuse. He could go from a gentle and calming waterfall to a thunderous sea storm in under a second. He couldn't conceal his emotions well and he couldn't deal with his emotions either"

"Ginny?"

"She was stubborn and quite scary when she was mad. She had all her brothers wrapped around her little finger and because she looked so innocent, people underestimated her and that was their mistake. She could be ruthless when it came down to it, hell, I faltered once or twice under her glare" Mrs Weasley chuckled. "She was smart and observant, she didn't miss a thing. You'll have to keep an eye on her, given their ages, the twins spent the most time with Ginny and they were a bad influence on her, Ron avoided them" she said laughing. "Oh, by the way, Fred is wearing the white jumper and George the blue"

Mrs Weasley's head snapped up. "Fred is wearing the blue jumper and George the white jumper"

"Nope, they swapped. I noticed it as soon as I walked in the door. When they introduced themselves to me they swapped names" she said amused and Mrs Weasley sighed.

"How do you do it? Tell them apart?"

"I don't know, I just can. I've been able to do it since I met them"

When lunch was finished, the children were bundled up in warm coats and knitted scarves and hats and they played in the snow whilst the adults sat on the porch watching them attentively.

"So, out of curiosity, how much time did you spend here?" Sirius asked her and laughing as Charlie hit Bill in the face with some snow.

"From my first year onwards, I practically lived here. I know this place like the back of my hand. I can tell you where the lake is, where the tree house is, where the best place to take a nap is. Hell, growing up we would wander the forest and name every deer and wild rabbit we came across. At the minute, I would say I know this place better than the children. They're not old enough to wander the full grounds by themselves yet" she shrugged.

"There's a tree house?" Mr and Mrs Weasley said shocked.

"Hmm, I'm not telling you where it is though, only the children are allowed to know apparently, or that's what they told me" they chuckled.

Fred and George ran unsteadily over to the porch.

"Can we have our surprise now?" they whined and Hermione chuckled.

"Yeah, you can have it now" she stood up and Fred and George grabbed a hand each and dragged her away from the porch and towards the other children.

Hermione dropped their hands and with fast reflexes she picked George up and he laughed in shock as she held him upside down. She laughed at him and he laughed widely and then she turned him back the right way and rested him on her hip.

She pulled her wand from her pocket.

"Okay, you're going to help me" he nodded excitedly. "Put your hand on my wand" he did as she asked and she covered his hand with her own and she pointed it upwards towards the sky.

"Opus Ignis Leonis" she said and a bright beam of light shot out of the tip of her wand and into the sky. It exploded into a range of colours with the particles slowly falling from the sky before they floated back up and joined to make a large golden lion in the sky and with a roar, it disappeared from view.

Fred and George stared at the sky transfixed as did the adults and children. She turned around to see them staring in awe.

"What? Gryffindor pride" Hermione said and they started laughing at her.

"Wow" Fred and George said in wonder and they grinned at Hermione.

"My turn, Mia" Fred tugged on her coat. Hermione chuckled and put George back on the ground before picking Fred up and resting him against her hip.

"Okay, same as George did. Put your hand on my wand" he did and she covered his hand with hers and pointed her wand towards the sky.

"Opus Ignis Cervo" she said and a beam of light flew from the tip of her wand and littered the sky with sparkling colours before it turned into a stag. "Lupus Erant" she said and the process repeated itself this time creating a werewolf. "Canis" this created a large dog and finally she spoke "Vulpes" creating a fox. The four animals made out of fireworks looked down at everyone from the sky. "Praedonum" she called and a beam of light spelled out 'Marauders' in red and gold.

Everyone was amazed.

The marauders all stood up and clapped their hands loudly and whistled and Hermione chuckled. She put Fred down and then she bowed, Fred and George quickly following her lead.

"That is the most brilliant thing I have ever seen" James said awed and she grinned at him.

"Mum! Mum! We did magic" the twins ran over to their parents yelling proudly and they chuckled.

"You have got to teach me how to do that" Bill shouted suddenly excited.

"When you're seventeen I will" he grinned.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment**

"So, everyone's fed and happy, Harry's in bed and Remus has gone food shopping since it's his turn, now, tell us" James spoke plopping down on the couch.

"Tell you what?"

"About these Horcruxes" Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Oh, right. Well I now know where they all are. The first one we are going to deal with is Ravenclaw's diadem. That is hidden on the seventh floor of Hogwarts in the Room of Hidden Things. Hopefully it hasn't been moved otherwise it could take decades to find it. We're going over to Hogwarts during the break, not all of the students will be going home, so we need to be in and out as quick as possible"

"Diadem first, then what?" James asked.

"Well I don't just need to deal with the diadem whilst at Hogwarts, I need to visit the Chamber of Secrets. The basilisk is still there but dormant. It needs to be dealt with so that there isn't even a remote chance of it being awakened, now or in the future. I'll be exhausted after destroying the Horcrux though so I will return to Hogwarts after a few days of rest"

"Why would you be exhausted?"

"It takes a lot out of you. I will be casting fiendfyre, which not only have I not done in months, it takes a lot of physical strength to control as well as magic to cast, it will drain my magic and I'll become magically exhausted. That's why there are only four people in the world that can cast it. You build up a resistance to casting fiendfyre until it barely affects you anymore, but that takes years, decades even. I started casting when I was eighteen, I haven't been doing it long enough to have no ill effects" she shrugged.

"Okay, diadem first, then what?" Sirius asked.

"I was thinking maybe Slytherin's locket"

"Where is it?"

"12 Grimmauld Place"

Sirius froze and James' eyes widened.

"Why would there be a piece of a murdering psychopath's soul in my childhood home?" he fumed.

"It's not what you think, they weren't given it to protect it. I haven't told you something yet, but I've been meaning to. It's about your brother"

"Regulus? He was Death Eater, he died in a raid, it was his own fault"

"No, Sirius, your brother died a hero. He didn't die in a raid, he died stealing the Slytherin locket" she said softly.

"What?" he whispered.

"Regulus didn't want to be a Death Eater, and after two years he learned about the Horcruxes. Voldemort borrowed Kreacher and he used him to hide the locket so his Horcrux would be safe. When Kreacher returned he was dying. Regulus was furious. He healed Kreacher and then ordered him to take him to the Horcrux. He got past the security and protective measures and he stole the locket, leaving behind a replica and a note for Voldemort. He gave the real locket to Kreacher and Regulus drank some of the water surrounding the cave and that was his downfall. The Inferi took him and that is why a body was never found. You brother died defying Voldemort... he died a good man and a hero"

Sirius stared at her before standing.

"I need a drink" he muttered and then walked out of the room.

"Never saw that one coming" James spoke breaking the silence.

Hermione sighed and flopped her head back.

"I know, I didn't either at first. The note was signed R.A.B. I knew I had seen the initials somewhere but I couldn't remember where. It wasn't until we were hiding in Grimmauld at the beginning of our mission when I came across it. We spent two summers at Grimmauld during school. Harry and Ron shared a room on the third floor that used to belong to Regulus, his initials were on the door and that's when I figured out who had the locket. The only thing was after Sirius and Dumbledore's deaths, The Order relocated and Mundungus broke into Grimmauld and stole a lot of possessions, the locket being one of them. He sold it to Umbridge which was why we had to break into the Ministry and steal it back. Sirius and I are going to have to go to Grimmauld to get it"

"He swore he would never go back there. His mother would never let him through the door. She disowned him"

"It doesn't matter" Hermione said. "I've been reading over wizarding law. Walburga may have blasted Sirius off the family tree and she may have disowned him, but in the eyes of the law and Gringotts, Sirius is the heir of the Black House" he stared at her in shock. "Walburga has no claim to the fortune, to the properties or anything inside them. It all belongs to Sirius; he is Sirius Black, no matter what she says. When she disowned Sirius, Regulus was made the sole living male heir, but when he died, Sirius was automatically reinstated. He owns Grimmauld Place and his mother can't stop him from entering, also, Kreacher has to take orders from him"

James stared at her and then laughed disbelievingly.

"He would never be the Head of the House of Black"

"Hmm, but he would have the opportunity to turn it into something good. To turn it into a name that people wouldn't respect out of fear, but out of honour and integrity. They would be noble not because of its fortune and ancestry, but for its values and morals. Sirius could do that. And he'd pass on a legacy to his children"

James snorted.

"What's so funny? Sirius would be a wonderful father; you've seen the way he is with Harry and the Weasley children. Of course he would have to find the right woman that could handle him and keep him grounded. From what I remember he's a bit of a womanizer, although I've never seen him with a woman since I arrived, one night stand or not. I haven't even seen him looking at women actually" she mused and then shrugged. "Anyway, now that he will never suffer all those years in Azkaban it's possible it could happen. He could have a family. A wife and a child, he's already got us. I just want him to be happy" she sighed. "I just want you all to be happy" she rested her head against James shoulder. "I know what Remus' future holds. I know he'll marry Tonks and have Teddy, but I don't know about Sirius or you and that worries me"

"We'll get by just fine, especially if we have you. Don't you worry" James said and then he moved his arm so it was around her shoulders.

 _'_ _Prewett twins two: Marauders six'_ he thought proudly. Sirius walked back into the room with a smug smile on his face and James knew that he had heard everything.

"So, my brother is actually a hero and he died sticking it to Snake-face. Couldn't more proud" Sirius spoke and Hermione chuckled and smiled softly.

"So Grimmauld?" Hermione nodded. "I'm really the Head of the House of Black?"

"You really are, imagine the look on your mother's face when she finds out"

Sirius grinned. "That's reason enough alone to go back to the House of Horrors, never mind to get a piece of a nut-job's soul" they laughed at him.

"I've been thinking as well, Hufflepuff's cup is in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault"

"Which we have no way of accessing unless you break in again" she rolled her eyes.

"Never again" they chuckled at her. "But, we don't have to break in, we walk in"

"But we still won't have access" James pointed out.

"Sirius will"

They stared at her. "You've lost me" Sirius said confused.

"Bellatrix was a Black, when she married her vault changed names, but the contents itself stayed the same as well as the vault number and location. And as the Head of the House of Black, you have the right to access any vault that belongs to the Blacks, which her vault does. The goblins will want to know why we want access though, so we tell them that we believe Bellatrix is in possession of a family heirloom that doesn't belong to her. We simply walk in and walk back out"

"That's genius" they both whispered and she grinned.

"Mia Granger, Wisest Witch of the Age" she pointed to herself and they burst out laughing.

"So we have access to three of the Horcruxes. What about the diary and ring?" James asked.

"The diary is at Malfoy Manor"

Sirius groaned and flopped back into the couch dramatically.

"He doesn't make it easy, does he? What is it with my demented family?" they laughed at him.

"I still have figured out how to go about getting it. And the ring is in Little Hangleton, I'm not sure where though, but I'll find it"

"There's one more you still haven't told us about" James pointed out.

"Do you trust..."

"Yes" the both replied before she even finished her sentence and it made her smile.

"Trust me when I say you don't need to know what it is yet, I am handling it" they nodded and the subject was dropped.

"So, seems little Bill has taking a liking to you" Sirius said with a smirk. Hermione threw a pillow at him and it him in the face and he scowled.

"You're lucky it wasn't the business end of my wand" he gulped and James laughed.

"When will you learn Padfoot? You shouldn't get on the wrong side of our Mia"

They both noticed that she didn't object to James calling her theirs and they both felt smug.

 _'_ _Prewett twins two: Marauders seven'_ they both thought.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Straying into dangerous territory**

* * *

AN: AGirlLostInTime – Yes, Fabian and Gideon will have chance to win more points, got to keep our troublemakers on their toes, don't we? Keep them grounded!

amber . ouillette – yes, I like to update regularly, usually every 2-3 days. I like to be a few chapters ahead in writing so that if anything prevents me from writing, I have something to fall back on whilst I continue writing and I won't be leaving my lovely readers without an update.

I have mentioned before that I have had many requests for stories, so to keep it fair, I will be writing and posting my fanfics in the order I received the requests. The order is below.

Hermione/Fred/George - which will be the next story to be posted once 'ASCTT' has finished, since the first few chapters are sorted out. Fanfic is now named 'A Different Kind of Magic'

Hermione/Oliver Wood - I have already completed two fanfics staring Oliver Wood, but another has been requested.

Hermione/Draco/Character yet to be decided

Hermione/Cedric Diggory - requested by Andree 07

Hermione/Fabian/Gideon - requested by Noctis Corvus

Hermione/Remus/Sirius - marriage law fic

Hermione/Bill/Charlie

As you can see I have a lot on my plate, and I'll do my best to get through them all in a timely manner.

* * *

 **The Burrow - Monday 21st December 1981**

"Thank you for watching him, Molly" James spoke handing over Harry to her.

"Oh, it's no problem dear" she spoke. "I imagine whatever you're doing is important"

"It is" Hermione confirmed. "The next step in taking down undesirable number one"

"What?" four sets of eyes trained on her bemused.

Hermione chuckled. "Inside joke, you wouldn't understand it" they nodded still confused.

"Well we should only be a few hours" James spoke.

"Take all the time you need, good luck and be careful" the four Marauders saluted her and she chuckled.

* * *

 **Hogwarts**

Hermione and the Marauders walked through the large gates that protected the entrance to the Hogwarts grounds.

As they grew closer to the castle they noticed the lack of students with it still being early and most of the students went home for the holidays the previous Friday.

Hermione stopped and just stood on the spot, taking in the sight of the castle through her snow covered hair and eyelashes.

"You okay?" James asked stopping in place and turning to look back at her, noticing that she had fallen behind.

"Yeah, it's just the last time I saw the castle it was in pieces at my feet and surrounded by dead bodies" they cursed silently; they should've remembered it would be difficult for her to return.

"That won't happen again" Remus said and Hermione nodded silently.

James walked over to her, put his arm around her shoulders and tucked her into her side. She sighed and then they continued on their way to the castle.

Sirius smirked. _'Prewett twins don't stand a chance'_ he thought smugly.

"Albus" the Marauder's greeted when they entered his office without being seen by any students, though it was still early. Hermione didn't speak, she just stood by the door leaning against the wall, observing Dumbledore's demeanour.

She noticed that as they exchanged pleasantries, James seemed more reserved with Dumbledore.

"How is progress coming with the Horcruxes?" Dumbledore asked her.

"Well" she answered curtly. Remus cleared his throat, breaking the two out of their staring contest.

"Shall we?" Sirius spoke.

"Yeah, let's get this over with, I'm not exactly looking forward to it"

"Why not?" Remus asked curiously.

"You'll see" with that she turned around and left the office. The four wizards followed behind her as she navigated her way expertly through the halls, even taking them through some of the secret passageways to make the journey quicker, the less time she had to spend with Dumbledore, the safer it would be for everyone around her.

When she was on the seventh floor, she led them to the wall.

"I don't get it" Sirius said, scratching his head confused.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

 _'_ _I need the Room of Hidden Things'_ she thought as she paced back and forth three times in front of the wall.

When the door appeared eyes widened.

"Whoa" the three Marauders said in awe.

She opened the door and they followed behind her, when the door was closed, it disappeared from sight and they were surrounded by every lost and found item since Hogwarts was founded.

"Okay, Hogwarts has some severe hoarding issues" Sirius commented and it caused a laugh from Hermione and he beamed at the sound.

"Follow me, if I remember correctly, it's down there, followed by a left, then a right, then another two lefts, then two rights, past the broken bed and filing cabinet, we walk past the toilet seat, past the cabinet which I will be destroying by the way and then it should be sat on top of a wig" they stared at her and she chuckled.

She led them through the maze until she reached the vanishing cabinet; she pulled her wand and pointed it at the cabinet.

"You might want to stand back" she warned them and they immediately stepped away from her, but looked at her questioningly.

"Fiendfyre" she whispered and a beam of vicious fire licked at the cabinet, the dragon like flames devouring it hungrily. Hermione took deep breaths and blocked out the sound of curses and gasps behind her, focusing on only controlling the demon possessed blaze.

She ended the spell and her wand arm dropped tiredly and her breathing was coming out in pants. She bent over with her hands on her knees as the last of the cabinet turned to ash before their eyes.

James and Sirius rushed forward to either side of her and helped to support her and she got herself together again. Remus smirked at the display and he chuckled.

"That was something else" Sirius commented and she chuckled tiredly.

"Why did you destroy that cabinet?" Dumbledore asked.

"It was the vanishing cabinet" Hermione replied. "That's how the Death Eaters snuck into the castle my sixth year, I'm taking any and all precautions that I can to prevent it from happening, it's doesn't matter if we destroy Voldemort, I don't want anyone learning about the cabinet and using it"

She pulled away from James and Sirius and knelt down in front of a pile of ash. She reached into her beaded bag and removed two large jars. In the pile of ash sat twelve Ashwinder eggs. She carefully placed six in one jar and six in the other.

"Why are you doing that?" James asked.

"Ashwinder eggs, they are incredibly useful in potion brewing and they are even rarer. They are one of the rarest ingredients in the world. The reason why is because they are an after effect of fiendfyre, they are left in the ashes of whatever was burned. And since there is only four fiendfyre practitioners in the world, Ashwinder eggs are hard to come by" she explained. "Snape can have six and I'll take six and see what I can do with them" she stood up.

She turned around and looked behind her before walking straight down the narrow pathway and she turned to her right, where the diadem sat on top of a wig, just like Hermione had said it would be.

She climbed on top of some boxes and reached up and grabbed the diadem before jumping down.

"So that's the lost diadem of Ravenclaw?" Sirius said. "It doesn't look evil"

"Just wait, this one will take a lot out of me. Horcruxes fight back which makes this ten times worse" she then closed her eyes.

 _'_ _I need a room that is fiendfyre-proof and with a divider to separate them from me until the Horcrux is destroyed'_

Just like she asked for, the room changed until it was empty of all things except them. She looked behind her to see that there was a glass divider with the four wizards stood behind it, protected from what she was about to do. They could still see and hear her, but they couldn't get to her until the Horcrux was destroyed.

Their eyes widened when they realised what she had done, but unlike her, they didn't know how the room worked so they couldn't do anything about it.

She put the diadem on the floor and stood back. She took a deep breath and raised her wand.

"Fiendfyre" she whispered and once more she conjured the possessed flames. As they touched the diadem a shadow of Harry appeared in front of her.

"It's fault, you know? I died because of you. You were the reason I was fighting, you and your blood. You were supposed to protect me and you failed. You're a useless, filthy mudblood. You're not worthy of magic and it should've been you that died" tears started falling down her face and she worked to keep control of the fiendfyre.

She could distantly hear shouts and banging come from behind her, but she blocked it out.

"You're a failure Hermione, you got everything you deserved. Your parents, the Slytherins, the torture, being alone. You deserved it"

Hermione could feel the exhaustion sinking into her. Her muscles, her bones, her very core. Her magic was being drained by the fiendfyre. She wanted nothing more than to give up, but she couldn't. The Horcrux hadn't been destroyed and she was the only one with the ability to do that.

She steeled herself and tensed up her muscles in order to keep herself upright. She held her wand with both arms for stability.

"I hate yo..." his words were cut off by an ear piercing shriek. The shadow of Harry disappeared and the diadem started thrashing around on the floor. One last scream was released before black smoke poured out of the diadem and there was a loud banging noise.

The Horcrux had been destroyed.

Hermione let out a loud sob and before she collapsed to the floor, she was caught and lifted off her feet. She barely saw James' face above hers before she blacked out.

"She's unconscious, likely will be for a few days" James spoke with a horrified look on his face at what he just witnessed.

"I can't believe that happened" Sirius whispered equally disgusted.

"No wonder she wants to get rid of these things so quickly" Remus commented. "We'll get her back to the apartment" the Marauders turned to leave ignoring Dumbledore.

"Take her to the hospital wing" Dumbledore said.

"No, we'll take her home. It's where she needs to be and we already know what she needs" Sirius said. "Plus, who knows what potions you'll shove down her throat" he muttered quietly so only James heard.

The turned and the door appeared to allow them to exist the room.

"James, about using Harry, I really think yo..."

"Over my dead body" he said coldly and he stared at him in a similar fashion. "My son is not getting anywhere near this. We are already one Horcrux down and Mia has figured out where the last two are. When she's up to it, we will deal with the rest of them and then we've already won. There is no part of the plan that Harry needs to be involved with"

They turned and left him alone in the empty room.

"Moony, will you pick Harry up for me?"

"Already heading there" he chuckled.

* * *

 **The Burrow**

Remus stepped out of the floo and the first thing that hit him was the sound of a screaming child and he winced, the sound hurting his ears due to his advanced hearing.

"Molly" Remus called and she stepped into the room carrying a hysterical Harry.

"MIMI! MIMI!" he screamed and wriggled in her arms.

"I don't know what's wrong with him, he's been screaming like this for the last forty minutes and I can't settle him down"

"It's the bond, he knows something is wrong with Mia"

She gasped. "Is she hurt? Did something go wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"The mission went according to plan, but it was dangerous, Harry and Mia are able to sense when the other is in danger, that's what set him off. He will be fine once I get him home" he took the screaming toddler from Molly and she fetched his baby bag and handed it to him. "We may not make it for Christmas dinner, I'm afraid"

Molly frowned. "Why? I thought you said no one was hurt?"

"I did, but Mia had to do something incredibly draining and as a result she is magically exhausted. She fell unconscious immediately afterwards. She is being tended to, but you can never be too sure when someone will wake up after a magical exhaustion. Could be days, could be weeks, hopefully it's days and she'll be right as rain in no time. I better get him home and calm him down before he hurts himself" he said goodbye to Molly and then flooed to the apartment.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment**

Remus entered the apartment carrying a screaming Harry. He dropped the baby bag to the ground and quickly made his way to Hermione's room.

When he entered it was to see Hermione laid in the middle of her bed and the blanket covering her. Magic had been used to change her clothing to pajamas and it looked like she was wearing one of Harry's jerseys. Sirius was sat leaning against the head board on her right and James her left. Harry stopped crying immediately after seeing Hermione and he tried to wriggle out of Remus' hold. Remus placed Harry on the bed and he crawled over to Hermione.

He wrapped his arms around her neck and cuddled up next to her. They both began glowing until they had to shut their eyes or risk going blind. Once they deemed it safe to open their eyes again, the light had vanished and Harry was asleep.

James rested his hand against her forehead.

"Her fever has gone" he informed them and they sighed in relief. "We just have to wait for her to wake up"

* * *

Several hours later Hermione hadn't woken and there was a knock on the door.

James stood and left the room and headed to the living room and he opened the front door.

The Prewett twins were on the other side looking worried.

"Molly told us Mia was hurt. Is she alright?" one of the twins spoke.

James blinked and looked down at the bag one of them was carrying.

"She's fine, just sleeping. She's not injured, she just hasn't woken yet" they sighed in relief.

"Well, we brought her chicken soup and orange juice without any pulp"

 _'_ _Her favourite soup and drink'_ James thought annoyed.

"Oh, and these" the other twin removed a bouquet of daisies from behind his back.

 _'_ _And her favourite flowers'_

"Thanks, I'm sure she'll appreciate it, I'll let her know you stopped by when she wakes" he took the flowers and bag from them. They nodded and left and he shut the door annoyed.

He took the things to her room with him.

"Who was it?" Sirius asked.

"Fabian and Gideon, they brought Mia's favourite flowers, drink and soup"

Sirius growled. "Sneaky bastards, just when I think we've won"

"We don't have to tell her" James said hopefully.

"She'll find out, she always does" Sirius said grumpily.

Remus chuckled. "Guess that changes the scores then"

"Prewett twins five: Marauders seven" James glowered and Remus shook his head amused.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment - Friday 25th December 1981**

Hermione had yet to wake up from her magical exhaustion and it had been four days. Harry was asleep on the bed next to her, James was asleep on a chair by the side of her bed and Sirius was in Padfoot form and sleeping on the end of the bed.

Hermione woke up crying. For the past four days her mind had been on repeat. She dreamt about her years at Hogwarts, every dangerous act leading up to the Final Battle, Bellatrix torturing her, the deaths and finally the Horcrux's words.

She cried because it was all true, every last word and she knew it.

Her crying woke both Padfoot and James. Padfoot whimpered at the end of the bed and James jumped to attention immediately and leaned closer to the bed.

"Hey, what's the matter?" he spoke softly.

Hermione shook her head and tears began to fall.

"You can't be crying today, it's Christmas morning" she cried louder. "It's what happened when you destroyed the Horcrux isn't it?" he didn't wait for a reply. "It wasn't real, I've seen the way you and Harry were through your memories. He would never say those things to you. If he hated you he wouldn't have completed the bond with you. He wouldn't have trusted you with his secrets. He wouldn't have protected you from your parents. He wouldn't have gone to you for help. Harry loved you – does love you. You didn't fail him. Think of all the times he needed you, he turned around and you were there to break his fall, literally, out of a window. You are not a failure, think of what you've accomplished. You won a war, you beat the darkest witch and wizard known to wizard kind. And you've caught over one hundred Death Eaters, saved lives, figured out You Know Who's darkest secrets and destroyed one of his Horcruxes already. You are not a failure, you're the opposite. You my little witch, are extraordinary"

"You should call him by his name. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself" Hermione spoke through her flowing tears.

"Where did you learn that?"

"Dumbledore. It's a shame I don't trust him and he's manipulative. He has a brilliant mind and his wisdom is amazing. It's too bad he doesn't know how to use it correctly" He chuckled softly.

"You should forgive yourself. I know you blame yourself for their deaths. Harry, Moony, Fred and Percy. It wasn't your fault. Yes, you were blessed by the Moon Goddess and yes, you are powerful, but you can't save everyone. It's Christmas, a time for forgiveness. You need to forgive yourself and let go of the guilt and anger that you have bubbling inside of you. It's eating away at you and if you allow that to continue, it will destroy you. So forgive yourself and go back to sleep"

He reached over and wiped her tears away for her. Harry instinctively moved closer to Hermione in his sleep and James took a hold of Hermione's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze as she fell back into a dreamless sleep.

James never let go of her hand and when he turned to look at Padfoot, he saw he had a huge doggy grin on his face and he snorted. He knew what Padfoot was thinking.

 _'_ _Don't even need to keep tally anymore, we've already won'_

* * *

Later that day they decided to stay at the apartment instead of going over to the Burrow like they originally had planned. They floo called Molly who was slightly put out with the decision, but she understood their reasoning and she sent over the customary Weasley jumpers.

When Hermione woke up just before lunch, they were waiting for her in the living room. She quickly showered and spent several minutes just smiling at her light blue Weasley jumper with a large yellow H in the middle, before she dressed and headed to the kitchen. She quickly set to work with preparing Christmas dinner and it helped that Remus had already prepared the vegetables.

Once she was done she headed into the living room and she found the Marauders and the young wizard huddled underneath the fort -which like Sirius had promised, not been taken down- and they looked to be conversing conspicuously. She chuckled and quietly made her way towards.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

They yelped and actually jumped from the ground in shock. The only one that wasn't affected was Harry who giggled and clapped loudly.

"Merlin's sake woman" Sirius gasped out. "I'm going to have change my underwear now"

Hermione burst out laughing.

"It's not my fault, you're supposed to have advanced hearing, pay better attention"

Remus chuckled at her. "We've been waiting for you to wake, poor, little Padfoot was jumping in his seat wanting to open his presents" Hermione laughed. With a wave of her wand all of the Christmas presents appeared in a pile in front of everyone.

"Well then, don't let me stop you" Sirius dived into the pile like an over excited ten year old.

 _'_ _Some things never change'_ she thought fondly.

* * *

 **Hogwarts – Thursday 31st December 1981**

Once more, Harry had been dropped off at the Burrow with the Weasleys and the Marauders were stood in Dumbledore's office early in the morning.

Hermione was there to go into The Chamber of Secrets and deal with the dormant basilisk. Hermione was leaning against the wall as far away from Dumbledore as possible and she watched as he exchanged greetings with the other three wizards that had insisted on accompanying her. She rolled her eyes.

 _'_ _Honestly'_ she thought with a huff. _'It's like they think I can't take care of myself. Stupid, idiotic, over protective...'_ she was brought out of her thoughts.

"Mia, are you ready?" James asked.

"What? Ready? Yeah, let's get this over with. I don't want to spend too much time down there. I need the sorting hat"

"Why?" Dumbledore asked.

"If you want me to get rid of the snake that is larger than the great hall and currently squatting in the castle, you'll give me the hat" Sirius snorted at her until she turned a glare on him and he promptly looked away with Remus and James chuckling.

Dumbledore reluctantly retrieved the sorting hat and handed it over. Before Hermione could do anything the sorting hat started talking and she jumped in surprise.

"Well, Miss Granger, I wasn't expecting to see you for another decade. It's not often I am surprised, well done, quite a feat" Hermione blinked. "Don't just stand there, put me on" he drawled and they chuckled at her as she cautiously placed the hat on her head.

She could hear the sorting hat mutter and mumble as he searched through her mind, witnessing everything that had happened to her until he was satisfied with his new knowledge of her.

 _'_ _Well, no wonder I was surprised to see you, time travelling eh? How very exciting. I know you have a war raging inside of yourself, you search for answers, and you will have some difficult decisions to make. I will be here when you need help to sort through your thoughts and to give you advice. Remember, Miss Granger, I am the sorting hat and there's no other hat like me, I look forward to seeing you in the very near future'_ he spoke in her mind. _'Now, you best remove me, the old coot is looking at us strangely'_ Hermione couldn't help snorting.

 _'_ _I like you more and more each time I see you'_ she thought and she heard the hat chuckling in her head. _'Guess I'll speak to you soon'_

 _'_ _Until then, Miss Granger'_

Hermione removed the hat from her head.

"What did he want? What did he say to you?" Dumbledore asked quickly.

She shrugged. "Well not that it's any of your business, but he was complimenting me on the fact that in one thousand years, no one has been able to surprise him. Said he was impressed with me" she said and she noticed the Marauders looking at her suspiciously. "Now, I better get going" she turned to leave with the Marauders following her, when she reached the door Dumbledore spoke.

"I'm coming with you"

"No, you're not, because it's not a good idea. Not only will The Chamber not allow more than four people in at a time, Voldemort hated you more than anything, your presence alone might lock The Chamber down and I won't be able to access it and take care of the pest you have slumming under the school"

She exited his office and led the three wizards to the second floor bathroom, where they found Moaning Myrtle, doing what she does best. Sobbing and making a mess of the bathroom. Hermione could see she was going to bother them and she intervened. She didn't want to have to deal with her so early in the morning.

"I'll blow your favourite toilet up" she said and Myrtle let out a wail and flew down the toilet and into the pipes. The Marauder's looked at her amused and she just shrugged.

"Is it true what you told Dumbledore?" Sirius asked, knowing it wasn't.

"I didn't want him following us and who knows? Maybe Voldemort did ward The Chamber against Dumbledore, I would if it was me. And as for the hat, I'll tell you later"

She walked over to the sinks and made a hissing sound. She had been around Harry long enough to pick up a few phrases in Parseltongue. Plus, when they were on the run Harry would teach her when they had their fill of researching and they needed a break.

They stared at her in shock, rather than the sink collapsing in front of them to reveal an entrance.

"You can speak Parseltongue?" Remus whispered. "How?"

"Not here, wait until we're home" with that said she sat down and slid down the slide that took her under the castle.

Once they were all at the bottom the door closed sealing them in and Hermione pulled her wand and cast a spell to light the torches lining the walls. She walked down the pathway until she reached a large stone wall with a huge figure carved into it. She whispered some more Parseltongue and the stone wall moved aside to allow them to gain access to The Chamber.

It was the second time she had been down there and it was exactly as she remembered it. Stone floors, large pillars and statues, cold air and a tense and frightening atmosphere. The only difference was the basilisk lying at the foot of the biggest statue in the room. No one dared to move when they saw it.

Hermione took a deep breath before she put her hand inside the sorting hat and when she pulled it back out she had in her hand the Sword of Gryffindor. The sharp silver blade had 'Godric Gryffindor' carved into it, and there were intricate designs on the silver of the handle and brilliant red rubies encased in the silver.

She let out a sigh of relief. "The Sword of Gryffindor everyone" she spoke holding it out for them to get a better look at. "It will only present itself to true Gryffindors. In my time that was Harry and Neville Longbottom" they gawked at her.

She put the hat on the floor and moved towards the basilisk slowly and quietly. She knew there was no chance of it waking up unless it was summoned, but she couldn't make herself believe that.

When she was stood by the head of basilisk, she raised the sword and with a powerful strike, she brought it down and severed the head clean off, the sword working like a knife through heated butter. Quickly and without effort.

She put the sword down and kneeled next to the dismembered head and she used a spell to keep the mouth open. She removed empty vials from her bag and placed them on the ground. Next she went about removing the fangs from the basilisk's mouth and she wrapped them up and placed them in her bag. And she used the vials to collect the leaking venom from the holes where the fangs used to be. When she was done she put them safely in her bag, picked up the sword, cleaned it with a spell and made her way back to the others who were staring at her.

"Remind me to never get on her bad side" Sirius muttered and they nodded in agreement.

She picked up the hat from the floor and put the sword back inside until it vanished.

"Let's get going, this places gives me the willies" she shivered and then she led them out of The Chamber.

They dropped the hat in Dumbledore's office, picked Harry up from the Burrow and went back to the apartment.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment**

"We're back, no one can hear us, now spill" James said plopping down under the fort with the rest of them. "And what were you doing when you were kneeling by the severed head?"

She sighed. "I was collecting the fangs and venom. They are both rare items and very useful. If anything were to happen to me before all the Horcruxes are destroyed, they can be used to destroy them" they frowned at that. "The hat wanted to know how I was able to surprise it. It looked through my mind and saw everything, and I mean everything. It said that I had a war raging inside of me, that I was searching for answers and I would soon have difficult decisions to make and it said that it would be waiting for me. It would help me and offer me advice when I needed it to. And it called Dumbledore an 'old coot' which I found hilarious"

"Okay, the Parseltongue?" Sirius said, handing Harry a different colour crayon for his colouring book.

"I am not a natural Parselmouth, but I can speak some phrases. Harry taught me"

The room was quiet, except for Harry giggling to himself.

"What?" the three wizards whispered.

"Harry was a Parselmouth" they stared at her in disbelief, looking between her and Harry.

"No, he can't be, that's the sign of a..."

"Dark wizard? A Slytherin? It's not what you think though, he wasn't born with it. Voldemort was born a Parselmouth though, because of his heritage as the heir of Slytherin. When Voldemort cast the killing curse and it back fired, he accidentally transferred that power, that quality to Harry"

"Harry is a Parselmouth because You Know Who accidentally gave him the ability when he tried to kill him?" Sirius said bemused.

"Yes, but the ability to speak to snakes didn't appear in Harry until he was ten, almost eleven. It was only a couple of weeks before he was informed about Hogwarts, I didn't learn about it until second year when he could hear the basilisk moving through the water pipes. Spending so much time with Harry, I picked some of it up and he would teach me when we were bored on the run"

"So Harry will be a Parselmouth?"

"Not exactly, when Voldemort dies that quality should disappear from Harry, he would never even know he possessed it since he would be too young to remember and it wouldn't have manifested yet. This is also why I didn't want Dumbledore coming with us to The Chamber. Harry and Voldemort have a kind of a connection. It is weak, but as Voldemort strengthens, so will the connection and he can use it to get into Harry's head. That's how he possessed Harry in fifth year. But Voldemort will be long gone by the time that is possible"

They stared at her.

"I need a drink" James muttered.

"Anyway, next I think we should try for Hufflepuff's cup. We can go after New Year's" they just nodded at her.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Why Mia?**

* * *

AN: filmdork – sorry for the confusion. They get points when they do something nice for her or when she allows them to comfort her or touch her without complaint; it shows that she trusts them.

crankypants16- I doubt it, it is Snape after all.

General Mac – No, she isn't a reincarnation of Xena, but I may have channelled the character a little. I like to think that Hermione is a strong and fierce character that should not be messed with. We all know what she did to Rita, Umbridge and Edgecombe. And she'd have to strong to be able to deal with Malfoy, Harry and Ron.

Analyn – if you would like Theo, I can make him the third member of the trio, I wasn't sure and I was going to open a vote in the future, but it can be him if you want.

Ravena D. Alister – thank you for your review. I like to take on board all comments from my viewers and I try to answer all questions put to me. I think that it's important to listen to what your viewers want; there is no point in putting so much effort and research into a story if it is not what people want to read. I prefer to write fanfics that are Post-Hogwarts because then I am not tied down by canon events, I have free rein to do what I want with the characters.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment – Thursday 31st December 1981**

There was only a few minutes till midnight, till it was a new year and Hermione was sat on the step outside of the apartment in the cold snow, waiting for the fireworks and celebrations in Diagon Alley.

She was thinking about everything she had accomplished. She was trying to forgive herself for Harry's death, for all their deaths like James had told her to, when her thoughts were interrupted by James and Sirius sitting down on the step on either side of her.

"Why are you freezing your arse off out here?" Sirius asked.

"Waiting for the fireworks"

"They won't beat yours" James said and she laughed.

"Maybe not, but it's tradition and I miss it. Every year Harry and I would sneak outside to watch the fireworks. Whether we were at Hogwarts and it was only meant for older students and staff, at the Burrow to watch the celebrations in the surrounding town or at Grimmauld to watch most of London being lit up. We would always sneak out together. When we were on the run, we almost died on Christmas day and we were hidden in the woods at New Year's so we missed it" she shrugged.

They could hear the residents of Diagon Alley shouting the countdown.

"FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Fireworks went off instantaneously in the sky of all different colours, patterns and shapes.

"Better than muggles, nowhere near as good as Fred and George" she said wistfully.

She then leaned over and shocked the life out of James by kissing his cheek, before doing the same to Sirius.

"Happy New Year, boys" she said and she rested her head on Sirius's shoulder. And he cleared his throat.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"Muggle tradition, at New Year's you kiss the person or people you want to be with you in the new year. I want the both of you to be in my future. I know for a fact that if I didn't have you two, Harry and Remus, I would be drowning in pressure right now, in research and dark magic. You are like my life raft keeping me afloat and I want you to know how much I appreciate you, all of you. I don't think I can repay you for everything you have done for me"

James and Sirius shared a hopeful look.

"We can assure you Mia, you have done far more for us than we have for you, far more than you realise"

* * *

 **Diagon Alley: Gringotts - Wednesday 6th January 1982**

Hermione and Sirius entered Gringotts and made their way to the largest desk at the back of the room.

The goblin didn't look up from what he was doing.

"Name?" he asked.

"Sirius Black" Sirius replied and the goblin dropped his quill and promptly looked up from the paperwork in front of him.

"Lord Black" the goblin said standing and making his way down the stairs of the counter until he was on the ground and he stood in front of them. Sirius grumbled at the title and Hermione chuckled.

"What can I help you with?"

"I have a delicate situation that I need help with" the goblin nodded and led them towards one of the back rooms used for meetings and appointments.

When the door was closed the goblin turned to face them.

"Bellatrix Lestrange" he started and they noticed that the goblin flinched at the name. "As you know, she is my cousin. Before she married she was a Black and her vault simply changed names but not contents" the goblin nodded slowly. "I have reason to believe that she has in her possession a Black family heirloom that does not belong to her. And as the Head of the House of Black, I require access to her vault to search for the missing heirloom. It is imperative that I get it back"

The goblin took in his relaxed expression deeming him to be telling the truth.

"And why is the girl here?"

Sirius smirked and wondered if what he was about to do would get him hexed. He pulled Hermione to him, flung his arm around her shoulders, kissed her temple and smiled at the goblin.

"She is my girlfriend and she is the only person who has seen the heirloom I am looking for, it was thought to be lost and she is the only one who has actually seen it, therefore she knows what we are looking for"

The goblin looked at Hermione. She didn't seem bothered by Sirius' words or actions and she smiled at the goblin.

"Do you have the vault key?" the goblin asked.

"I'm afraid I don't, my crazy cousin has yet to be captured and she has the vault key with her"

"That makes things more difficult. We of course have the original, and paperwork has to be filled out as well as ID needing to be taken from you and verified"

"That's fine, we'll wait" the goblin set to work pulling the correct forms from the filing cabinets in the room.

Hermione elbowed Sirius in the ribs and he grunted and then chuckled.

"Girlfriend?" she muttered quietly so the goblin couldn't hear

"Had to make it believable Kitten" he cheeked.

"Don't call me that, I'm a fox"

"Fine Love, and I had to make it believable"

"And why couldn't I have been your consultant?"

"I'd rather you be my girlfriend" he replied and Hermione missed the truth in his statement and the look her sent her way.

The goblin sat at the desk and Hermione and Sirius followed his lead. Sirius filled out some paperwork and Hermione had to as well. When that was done their wands were taken and their magical signature was catalogued.

"Everything is ready; a colleague is waiting for you outside"

They thanked the goblin and left the room. The goblin that was waiting for them led them to the cart and they climbed in. They made their way along the track and down to the vault with Hermione looking to be on the verge of losing her breakfast and Sirius laughing at her as she leaned into him.

"Why is it taking so long?" she grumbled as a fresh wave of nausea hit her.

"The Blacks are an ancient and highly wealthy House; therefore they are more valuable to Gringotts and have more possessions. The further down we go the more complicated the security for the vaults. Houses like the Blacks, Malfoys, Potters, Lestranges, Parkinsons, Flints, Puceys, Greengrass', Crabbes, Goyles and Notts, basically members of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Did you know that both the Prewetts and Weasleys are members of the Sacred Twenty Eight? Obviously I haven't named them all because I can't be arsed, but they are all further down underground, almost at the bottom actually. The only things further down are the vaults of the founders, but their lines died out centuries ago, except that psychopath of course. Anyway, we're almost there"

Five minutes later they stopped at the vault and clambered out of the cart. The goblin moved forward and used the original key to open the vault for them.

"We may be a while and it wouldn't be fair for us to keep you waiting" Hermione spoke kindly. "Is there any way for us to contact you when we are finished?"

The goblin nodded. "There is a bell to the left side of the vault door. Ring it and I will return"

"Thank you" they entered the vault and Hermione sighed. She pulled her wand and flicked it and a bright ball of light floated in the air, illuminating the room as the door closed behind them.

"It looks exactly the same as it did in 1998" she said and he chuckled. The vault was filled with gold, silver, galleons, jewels and jewellery sets, deeds to properties and potions which she was staying well clear of.

"The most important thing to remember is to not touch the cup. It has the Gemino curse on it, it almost killed us last time" she then headed to the back of the vault and over to the shelves that were filled with silver and gold cups, chalices and goblets.

"Let's see if I can remember" she said out loud and then her eyes carefully scanned the shelves, disregarding anything silver.

She moved closer to get a better look but she was mindful not to touch anything.

Twenty minutes later she had narrowed it down to two. She once more stepped closer and squinted, she was looking for a badger. And she found it on the goblet on the third shelf, five in from the left.

She removed her winter coat and put it on the floor, before taking off her tracksuit jacket.

"Accio Hufflepuff cup" she spoke and she carefully caught the cup in her hands with the jacket covering her.

She put it onto the ground, still with the jacket cushioning the cup. When she bent down Sirius cocked his head to the side to get a good look at her in her tight jeans and spaghetti strap top that rode up to show the small of her back.

When Hermione stood up and turned to look at him he plastered an innocent look on his face and she narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously and he just smiled at her. She carefully pulled her jacket away from the cup and put it back on.

She moved away from the cup and Sirius followed her lead.

"Whatever happens, stay back" she told him and then pointed her wand. "Fiendfyre" she whispered and she conjured the dragon like flames and they unleashed on the cup.

It was the same shadow of Harry that appeared, exactly the same as it had with the diadem. He said exactly the same words, but this time, Hermione didn't cry, she didn't feel guilty and she didn't hate herself. Instead she focused on the fire, feeling the exhaustion setting in once more.

She steadied her wand hand with her other hand and there was a blood curdling scream as black smoke leaked out of the cup.

Hermione dropped her wand hand and she was panting heavily.

"Two down" she gasped out and then she fell backwards and Sirius caught her.

"I've got you" Sirius whispered.

"You always do" she said before she fell unconscious.

Sirius magicked her winter coat back on and he carried her over to the bell, which he rang and he waited for the goblin to show up.

Twenty minutes later the vault door opened and Sirius was still cradling an unconscious Hermione to him gently.

"Is she alright? Did you find what you needed to?" the goblin asked worriedly.

"Yes, thank you. We found it. Due to the dark magic on the heirloom we decided it was best if it was destroyed, if that heirloom ever left the vault it wouldn't be safe for anyone. It took some complicated magic to counter the dark curses and it took a bit out of my girlfriend, she'll be fine once she's had some rest" he explained as he climbed into the cart.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment**

Sirius flooed into the apartment with Hermione still in his arms and the sounds of a screaming Harry met his ears instantly.

"Thank Merlin" James said loudly over Harry's screams. "He's been like this for the last hour, nothing has worked to calm him down. I was going to send Remus to get you if you weren't back in ten minutes"

They both walked to Hermione's bedroom and she was deposited on the bed with Harry, who stopped screaming as soon as he was touching her. As usual the bright glow appeared and then vanished and Harry was asleep next to Hermione, clinging to her.

Sirius felt her forehead.

"Fever's gone" he said and they both sighed. "Where's Moony?" he asked sitting down next to Hermione, with his back against the head board and James sat at the edge of the bed.

"He went out to get dinner, the full moon's in three days and he's started getting headaches. Harry wasn't helping him with all the screaming. How did it go?"

"According to plan. The goblin was suspicious of Mia though, told him she was my girlfriend"

"How did she take that?"

"After the goblin turned around she elbowed me in the ribs, and questioned me on it" James chuckled. "But to be honest, she didn't seem to mind, she even let me put my arm around her and kiss her temple" James grinned.

"Not bad, seems progress is being made. What happened with the Horcrux? Did it speak to her again?"

"Yeah, exactly the same as last time, Harry and the same words, but she didn't appear to be effected by it, she didn't cry, she didn't look like she was in emotional turmoil, she looked calm but straining to keep control of the spell"

"It's about time she forgave herself. I've never blamed her for Harry dying, it wasn't her fault. My son will have the life he was supposed to now that she's here"

"And he may even have a mum" Sirius said. James frowned. "She may share a sibling bond, but she's more like his mum than she is a sister, especially with our Harry"

"I know, I know she loves him just as much as I do, maybe even more. It's just weird, Lily died in childbirth, Harry's never really had a mum. Especially with us being in Godric's Hollow for almost a year"

"You miss her"

"She was my wife, of course I miss her, Just like I know you and Moony miss her"

"You didn't date after Lily died despite me encouraging you to, why are you considering dating now? Why Mia?"

"You don't date, Marlene doesn't technically count, you may have only slept with her rather than you having one night stands, but you didn't really date. You didn't buy her presents, you didn't take her out on dates, you didn't go out for dinner, you didn't spend time getting to know her. You just shagged her and that was the extent of your relationship, I know you cared for her, but still. Mia isn't that sort of person, she won't just sleep with you. Hell, we know nothing about her past relationships. But why do _you_ want to date Mia?" James turned the question on him.

Sirius sighed. "She's the light at the end of the tunnel. She can make me laugh without even speaking, just one facial expression, one eyebrow raise or one snort and I'm almost wetting myself. She got me out of Azkaban, even after I threatened her at wand point. She doesn't just sit back and let me do what I want; she won't take bullshit from anyone, let alone me, Moody or Dumbledore. She will defend us and Moony to her last breath, hell, she threatened Moony against himself" he chuckled. "She has yet to be bested by Moody, and you should've seen her during the battles we had with fugitive Death Eaters, bloody scary, I'm glad I managed to escape when I was so young, I wouldn't want to be on their side if I had her turning Europe upside down to find me. She's both patient and temperamental. Depends who it is she's dealing with I suppose. She's amazing with children; you've seen her with Harry and the Weasley children. She'll be an amazing mother. I know I'm getting ahead of myself and we're not even dating yet, but I could actually see myself marrying her" James was watching Sirius in shock. "Except, you're there at the altar with me"

"You didn't once mention her appearance"

"Oh, she's more than beautiful, she's like a goddess. Her beauty is both inside and out and that's rare, especially in our world, you've seen the pureblood girls strut around thinking they're all that, most of them look like the back end of a hippogriff" James sniggered. "Mia, she puts them all to shame without even trying and the fact that she can't see her own beauty adds to her beauty"

"I didn't want to date because Lily had died" James spoke sighing. "She was the woman I was convinced I would spend the rest of my life with. I would love no one but her and she was taken away from me. I didn't want to betray her memory. I didn't want to date a girl and for her to get hurt in the end because I couldn't commit since I was feeling guilty or comparing her to Lily. I wasn't ready to open that door or risk that feeling with anyone. But then Mia turned up. She saved my life twice, Harry's life, your life, she caught Pettigrew and she saved Moony from the pain of the full moon, well partially, but she's a miracle. I watched her whenever I could. And without realising it, feelings started to develop for her. She had these endearing traits that are so innocent but they make me smile. The way she scrunches up her nose in concentration when she's trying to find the answer to something, the way she bites her lip when she's writing notes, when she plays with a loose curl when she's reading or she huffs and throws her muggle pen across the room in frustration" he smiled softly down at the slumbering Hermione and his son refusing to let go of her in his sleep. "She's a great role model for Harry, someone he can count on. I know that if anything happens to me, I'm not saying it will, but if it does she will be here for him. I know that she would die to protect him. Her kindness and intelligence is outstanding. She's gone against Moody and Dumbledore time and time again to get Harry away from the war, to protect him from them, not even bothering to think of the consequences it would have for her. I've seen some qualities in her that were in Lily, but there are even more differences"

"She's intelligent, beautiful, a muggleborn, kind, caring..." Sirius listed off.

James nodded. "But she's loyal, fierce, hilarious, real, honest, protective, fearless, a great cook, a fighter, a survivor. She's scarred but it adds to her beauty. In the morning her hair is an untameable mess, like it's about to attack you" Sirius snorted. "But when she's brushed it, it flows like water down her back in shiny ringlets. You could drown in her eyes, and they sparkle when she laughs or finds the answer she's been looking for. Her mouth twitches when she's scolding us for our antics, but it's because she trying to stop herself from laughing. And Merlin her laugh, it's the purest sound I've ever heard. And have you smelt her? I'm grateful for advanced senses because she smells like strawberries, vanilla and honey. It's all you can smell after she exists the bathroom after a shower or when she walks past you quickly"

"I think it's safe to say we're both besotted with her" Sirius said amused and with a small smile and James chuckled and shook his head.

"I never thought I would find someone after Lily, but then Mia turns up and blasts my back door off its hinges" he chuckled. "Like you said, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but when I think about my future, I see her in it, possibly as my wife and now you're a part of it" he frowned. "What will we do if she rejects us?"

Sirius sighed. "I don't think she will. She's unknowingly responding to us. She let me tell the goblin she was my girlfriend, she let me put my arm around her and kiss her temple and she leaned against me. She fell asleep holding your hand after the first Horcrux was destroyed and she didn't let go, you had to pry your hand out of hers when Harry woke. You calmed her down when she woke crying. Every night when she has a nightmare, I stay with her as Padfoot until she falls back asleep and she clings to my fur. We can make her laugh, more so than the Prewett twins" he said smugly. "She smiles whenever she sees us and she always makes our favourite meals. She's always nagging us and she kissed our cheeks on New Year's" James unconsciously touched his cheek where she had kissed him. "I don't think she's thought about us the way we do her, she's preoccupied with the Horcruxes, Voldemort and Death Eaters. So, we need to give her a reason to really think about how she sees us"

"But still, what if she rejects us?"

"We pray she doesn't"

Unknown to them, Remus had been stood outside the bedroom door and he had heard the entire conversation.

He shook his head in shock, he knew James could be soft and sweet, after the way he was with Lily, but he had never heard Sirius speak so softly, so open about anything, let alone a girl. He knew that Hermione would be good for the both of them and them her. He vowed that he would do whatever he could to help his two fellow Marauders, win the girl.

* * *

 **Lupin Cottage - Saturday 9th January 1982**

Harry had been dropped off at the Burrow for the night and the four Marauders were walking through the woods that surrounded an old cottage. The cottage that Remus grew up in as a child was now deserted with both his parents no longer alive.

They warded the outskirts of the woods against people wandering about and Hermione went as far as to erect blood wards using Remus' blood, so he wouldn't be able to leave the wards until they were taken down by Hermione.

"Where did you learn how to cast blood wards?" Sirius asked both impressed and horrified.

"Black library in Grimmauld" she said shrugging and they rolled their eyes. "This will keep people out and Remus in, if we ever need to leave in a hurry we can. Only I can dismantle the wards at the moment but I'll teach you how to do it later" with that said she plopped down on the floor and went about checking her beaded bag for anything that she missed.

When she deemed everything there she handed out butter beers and sandwiches and Remus was given chocolate and meat.

When the full moon rose, the time came for Remus' change. Hermione turned into her fox and turned around to give Remus some privacy as he shakily removed his clothes, leaving him in his boxes. When she heard shouts and screams she knew it had started.

She felt someone brush up beside her and turned her head to see the large black dog looking down at her with his large brown eyes. He nudged her nose with his and she turned around to look at Remus. The transformation was complete and laying on the floor panting, was a large grey werewolf. After a few minutes he stood up on his hind legs and turned to the three animagi all sat side by side. The large stag was sat with his legs tucked under him, Padfoot was laying down with his head on his paws and watching Moony very carefully in case he turned on the fox.

Hermione was sat straight. She leisurely stood and started moving very slowly towards the werewolf with her eyes downcast as a sign of respect. She stopped when the werewolf snarled loudly.

 _'_ _Shit, we forgot to tell her what to do, he'll kill her'_ Prongs heard Padfoot say in his mind.

 _'_ _Moony will recognise her scent since she lives with us. Keep a very close eye on them, we'll interfere the moment things look like they may take a turn for the worse'_ Prongs replied.

The fox slowly laid down on her front before she rolled over onto her back, with her legs in the air and she bared her neck to the werewolf in an act of submission. They were a little surprised at her actions, since they hadn't told her how to act around Moony.

The werewolf eyed her carefully, before bending down to sniff at her neck; he then clamped his mouth around her neck and bit down, not hard enough to break skin or draw blood, but hard enough it caused some pain and discomfort.

He then let go and moved away from her and the werewolf made its way to Padfoot and Prongs. The process was repeated with them except it didn't take as long.

Padfoot and the werewolf started running around and play fighting with each other and the fox watched fondly. Prongs moved over to her side and laid down beside her.

 _'_ _I'm sorry'_ Prongs entered her mind.

 _'_ _For what?'_ she replied.

 _'_ _We forgot to tell you about Moony needing to assert his dominance over you, it would be the only way you would be allowed into the pack'_

Hermione snorted. _'I knew what I had to do because before Sirius' death he explained the process to both Harry and I. And Moony wouldn't have killed me, he may have injured me, but he wouldn't have killed me. I live with him, he is constantly surrounded by my scent, Moony would've recognised that and the Wolfsbane potion helps too'_

They laid there, side by side as Padfoot and Moony continued to run around and play fight. Moony was like an overexcited pup and she could tell Padfoot was getting warn out and she barked out a laugh.

 _'_ _He's going to be exhausted in the morning'_ Prongs chuckled in her head. _'I'm not carrying him'_ he laughed loudly.

Suddenly Prongs moved away from her and the fox stood up and looked confused, until she was tackled to the ground landing on her back with a paw on her stomach holding her down.

The fox looked up to see Padfoot hovering over her with a doggy grin on his face. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

 _'_ _How's it going down there?'_ she heard Padfoot enter her mind.

 _'_ _You tell me'_ she thought back. She quickly turned her head and bit Padfoot's leg. He barked in shock and Hermione being smaller, was able to wriggle out of his hold on her and she tackled him to the ground. She pinned him on his side and looked down at him.

 _'_ _How's it going down there?'_ she thought back and she heard the werewolf grunting, but it sounded more like a laugh and Prongs was hitting his hoof against the ground.

Padfoot gave her a big doggy grin.

 _'_ _Not bad actually, got a beautiful woman on top of me, I could get used to this'_

He knew Hermione would be rolling her eyes if she could. She moved away from him and he got to his feet.

 _'_ _Oh come on, you didn't have to move. The view was rather spectacular'_

 _'_ _Shame I can't say the same'_ she retorted.

The dog barked a laugh.

 _'_ _I'm handsome and you know it, you just don't want to admit you fancy me'_

This time the fox barked out a long laugh, until she fell over and was actually rolling around on the floor.

Padfoot took the opportunity to run over to her and he used his paw to keep her still.

 _'_ _Vixen, you're hearting my ego'_ the dog whined.

The fox snorted. _'With an ego as big as yours, you can afford to be taken down a peg or two'_

 _'_ _Admit that I'm handsome'_

 _'_ _No'_

 _'_ _Admit it'_

 _'_ _Nope'_ Padfoot bent his head and started licking at her fur on her neck and the fox wriggled underneath him trying to break free, but Padfoot used his large frame and strength to keep her down.

 _'_ _Oh, that's disgusting, stop it Padfoot'_

 _'_ _Only if you admit I'm handsome'_

 _'_ _About as handsome as Moody'_

 _'_ _Okay, not stopping'_

 _'_ _Padfoot, I will hex you in your sleep'_

 _'_ _It's worth it; I've got a beautiful woman wriggling underneath me'_

 _'_ _Padfoot'_ she growled and he chuckled.

 _'_ _No'_

 _'_ _Fine'_ she huffed. _'You're handsome'_

Padfoot stopped licking her fur and grinned down at her and she narrowed her eyes at him. She used her legs to kick him in the stomach and he yelped and Hermione moved out from underneath him.

They circled each other before the pounced; nipping, barking, growling and rolling around on the floor. The fox had Padfoot pinned underneath her twenty minutes later and she sat on him to keep him down. He tried to move out from underneath her, but she nipped at his ear and he stopped moving.

She looked to her left to see the highly amused werewolf and stag. She climbed off Padfoot and sauntered over to them with her bushy tail swishing back and forth behind her, high in the air.

The werewolf grunted out a laugh and the stag was once more banging his hooves against the floor, as if he was clapping.

She plopped down next to him.

 _'_ _Have fun?'_ Prongs entered her mind.

 _'_ _I put him in his place, what do you think? I mean, have you seen the size of me compared to him?'_ he chuckled. _'Oh, I believe you won a bet'_

James' loud laughter burst into her mind.

 _'_ _What was the stakes? I remember Sirius' rules to being a Marauder and rule number five was never bet for money. So I know it's going to be something embarrassing on Remus' part'_ James didn't answer, just continued to laugh. _'Please tell me'_ she all but whined.

 _'_ _You'll see very soon my little fox'_ he thought and he heard her huff and he chuckled.

An hour later and Moony was curled up in a ball sleeping. Hermione stood and went over to her beaded bag. She took out the blanket that was sticking out of the bag and with her teeth she dragged it over to Moony. She pulled it over him until it was covering him. She then repeated the process and draped a larger blanket over Prongs and she and Padfoot crawled under the excess of the blanket. It was winter and despite them all having fur coats, it was still cold and they needed the warmth. Hermione fell asleep with Prongs and Padfoot on either side of her and Padfoot had his head resting on her curled up form and she had her head propped up against Prongs.

 _'_ _She called me handsome'_ Padfoot thought smugly and James entered his mind laughing.

 _'_ _You practically tortured her, why would you lick her? That's disgusting'_ he snorted. _'Besides, she kicked your arse'_

 _'_ _She's faster than she looks. And she cheats, she bit me'_ James was laughing _'I like it'_

 _'_ _She didn't object to me calling her mine, that's twice now, I don't even think she notices and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not'_

 _'_ _Good_

 _'_ _How do you know Padfoot?'_

 _'_ _Hope; we'll win her over. For our sanity I have to have hope, and she's taught me that hope is a powerful thing'_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Feelings**

 **Unknown Location – Wednesday 13th January 1982**

"How is progress coming with the Horcruxes?" Dumbledore asked Hermione.

"Well"

"Care to elaborate" Moody snapped.

"You know Alastor, that was a rather impressive word use. I never knew you were so smart" Remus said smiling at Moody and he rested his hand on Moody's shoulder. Moody growled and shoved off his hand. "Right back at ya" Remus winked and he mock growled.

Hermione, James and Sirius were creased with silent laughter, the effort of restraining it had tears rolling down their faces and the rest of the members present were struggling to keep a straight face. McGonagall had gone red in the face trying to keep in her amusement and Snape had snorted a few times. Fabian and Gideon openly laughed and Kingsley sniggered.

That was the consequence of losing the bet. Remus had to openly flirt with Moody at The Order meeting. It was fair to say the last hour had been more than entertaining.

"The Horcruxes, Granger" Moody snapped and his magic eye spun in its socket.

"Oh, do that again, it's so arousing" Remus purred.

Hermione couldn't keep her laughter in any longer, she had for the past hour and now it was too much to handle. The laughter just bubbled out of her and refused to stop. James and Sirius joined her and Sirius even fell off his chair.

"Out now, and don't come back until you've gotten control of yourselves" Dumbledore ordered.

The three left the room and Hermione slid down the wall until she hit floor.

"It hurts" she said through her laughter and clutching her ribs and the other two agreed with her.

Ten minutes later they were all red in the face, with tear tracks down their faces and panting.

"Okay, let's go" Hermione said. They opened the door and Hermione stopped when she saw Remus practically draped over Moody, who looked less than impressed.

She burst out laughing again and walked back out of the room.

Her second attempt to enter the room was more successful, Remus had been ordered to move by Dumbledore and he was now sat next to James. He would casually send winks to Moody who growled and glared.

"The Horcruxes" Moody almost yelled.

"Alright, don't get your knickers in a twist" Hermione bit out.

"I'll untwist them" Remus said with a longing sigh and his hand raised. Hermione started laughing.

"Okay, the Horcruxes. Four are remaining; I have destroyed two so far. Hufflepuff's cup and Ravenclaw's diadem. In addition I have destroyed the vanishing cabinet and the dormant basilisk. Sirius and I will be retrieving Slytherin's locket in the next couple of weeks"

"Why is it taking you so long? Why don't you do something use..."

"Okay, Moody, you're seriously pissing me off. In order to destroy the Horcruxes I have to use fiendfyre. Fiendfyre magically drains a person and it has left me unconscious for days afterwards. It takes decades to overcome the affects of casting fiendfyre. Second of all, Horcruxes are the darkest magic to exist. If you are around them too long they start to affect you. Your mood, your behaviour, your decisions, your mental health. They are not something you should be exposed to. In the last month alone, I have been around two of them. In order to keep myself healthy I have to pace myself so I am not affected by the dark magic too often, it could kill me. And without me, the Horcruxes can't be destroyed"

"Anyone could destroy the blasted things" he growled.

"Really?" she smiled sweetly. "Okay, I quit. There are four more Horcruxes. The ring, the locket, the diary and another you don't know the identity of. You don't know where they are. You deal with the Horcruxes. I quit and I resign from The Order of the Phoenix. Win this war yourself, you jumped up arsehole" Hermione turned around and left the room. Without thought James, Sirius and Remus stood and followed.

"Following her like little lost puppies" Moody barked.

Sirius shrugged. "You're going to come begging for her help and I want to be there to see it. I quit too"

"Moody, I'm sorry, it's just not going to work out" Remus said sadly and shaking his head. Sirius and James snorted.

"And I'm going to pick up my son, I quit as well, I've seen what those Horcruxes are capable of and you'll hobble away when you see too" James smirked and with that they left.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment**

The three Marauders entered into the apartment, Molly told James she would have Harry for the night and so they left him at the Burrow.

"Mia" Sirius called out. She stormed into the living room with the air crackling around her. "Maybe we shouldn't have left Harry with Molly" he whispered fearfully and they nodded in agreement.

"What are you doing?" James asked carefully.

"Fuming... I'm trying to stay still and keep my magic calm" she spoke with her eyes closed and taking deep breaths. "You were right, they don't know what they're doing and I do. The Order of the Phoenix is nothing but an after school club for old farts" they snorted at her.

"Yes, nicely put, we quit too, we trust you more than them" Sirius commented and he sat down next to her on the couch.

"Okay, we need to move fast. It'll take them years to find the Horcruxes but I want to have them destroyed long before they can locate them, just to spite them. Imagine, they turn up to a location only to discover the Horcrux is either missing or already destroyed. I might even create a false treasure map and send it to them anonymously. Visualize them running around Europe searching when they should be looking on their door step" they laughed loudly at her. "That would bring me so much satisfaction" she sighed. "Right" she opened her eyes and looked a lot calmer. "Remus, brilliant job by the way"

He grinned. "Thanks, both Dumbledore and Moody didn't look impressed with me, but they wanted to kill you. Even McGonagall was laughing when you left the room" they laughed at him.

"Highlight of my year" she said and he beamed wider. "Now, it's time we create our own organisation. We will be better than The Order of the Phoenix; smarter, faster and stronger, we will be united and work together"

"And better looking" Sirius added and she rolled her eyes. "So does this organisation have a name?"

"I was thinking the White Lions"

"I like it" the three said and she grinned. "I thought you would. First order of business... celebrate our freedom"

"You've been with us for too long" Remus spoke and she laughed. The grabbed their coats and flooed to the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.

* * *

 **The Three Broomsticks**

They had been there for three hours and everyone was well on their way to being drunk, some more than others, mainly James and Sirius, who were currently slow dancing together in the middle of the pub and Rosemerta was shaking her head and chuckling at the two.

Hermione and Remus were sat at the table drinking butter beer, they had swapped to a softer drink rather than fire whisky.

"I can't believe you basically told them to shove it, I know you're brave but that took it to a whole new level" he chuckled when she grinned.

They both looked over to see James and Sirius slow dancing to a different song and they laughed.

"You know, I don't know what I'd do without you Marauders. I'd probably be holed up in a room in the Leaky Cauldron, doing research nonstop and worrying myself until I pass out"

"You're stronger than you think"

"And you're not a monster"

"I wish I could believe you" he said sadly.

She punched him in his arm and he whined and scowled.

"This isn't a pity party, we are celebrating" she told him and he chuckled. "But honestly Remus, you are not a monster. I can guarantee that I have hurt more people than you have"

"You've been to war longer"

"No, Remus" she said sighing. "My first year, I set fire to Snape's robes. I body binded Neville Longbottom because he tried to stop us from leaving the common room the night we went to stop Quirrell. My second year, I drugged Vincent Crabbe and Greg Goyle so that Harry and Ron could take their places whilst they were poly juiced. Third year, I punched Draco Malfoy in the face and broke his nose. My fourth year, I kept Rita Skeeter in a glass jar for over a month. Don't ask, it's a long story" she said knowing he was going to ask about it.

"My fifth year, I cursed Marietta Edgecombe for betraying us and I set a giant and a heard of centaurs on Umbridge. Sixth year, I conjured a flock of birds and had them attack Ron, and it was the year of the battle and Dumbledore's death. The Battle of the Seven Potters, I threw curses and hit someone and they fell off their broom, they probably died. We ran into Snatchers on the run and I hit two Death Eaters and obliviated them and then it was the Final Battle and I don't even want to think about how many people I hurt or killed. I have hurt far more people than you have Remus, and I am not a werewolf. You are not a monster. And every morning I am going to punch you in the arm until you get that through your thick skull" he just stared at her in shock. "You shouldn't be ashamed of who you are, you should be proud. You have an advantage over other wizards. You are stronger, faster and you have survival instincts. You have enhanced sight, smell and hearing. You have a stronger immune system and you heal quicker. The only negative is that you have to change at the full moon" she sighed. "Remus, I can promise you that you will have a happy future, I've seen it and I know it will happen. I just hope time isn't waisted this time round"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to tell you something. In the future you marry and have a son. Teddy Remus Lupin and he was mine and Harry's godson. Both you and your wife died, leaving him an orphan and he wasn't even a month old" she said sadly. "I'm not going to tell you who you marry because I want you to be surprised -and believe me you will be surprised- and I want you to have a normal life. You won't meet your wife for at least another ten years, I just wanted you to know that you will have a happy future, so there is nothing for you to worry about"

"A wife and a son?" he whispered.

"Yes, you loved each other very much, but you were a pain in the arse. At first you didn't want to get involved with her because you didn't want to ruin her life, took her almost a year to convince you to kiss her. I will not be putting up with that again, okay?" he slowly nodded. "Good" she took a drink of her butter beer. "Is James and Sirius acting weird to you?"

"They are weird, we're Marauders"

"No, weirder than usual?"

"Why would you ask that?" he raised an eyebrow.

"It's just..." she crinkled her nose in thought. "I've noticed some things"

"Like?"

"Well, when Sirius and I went to Gringotts he told the goblins I was his girlfriend rather than his consultant. When I passed out drunk he put me in his room rather than on the couch and they seem to get annoyed when Fabian and Gideon are mentioned. James has called me 'our Mia' and 'my little fox' a few times. I sometimes catch him and Sirius just staring at me and when they do something nice for me they always look at each other smugly. And don't even get me started on the looks on their faces at Christmas when I thanked them for my gifts. Oh, and I kissed them on their cheeks at New Year's and they were practically blushing and stuttering" he chuckled at her.

She was honestly confused by everything and it amazed him that she couldn't see that his two best friends were head over heels for her.

"Mia" he cleared his throat, this was going to be an awkward conversation. "How much experience do you have with boys?"

"What do you mean? Like putting up with them? Keeping them on track with school work? Arguing? Bullying? Punching them in the face? Wrangling them?"

"Dating" he clarified.

She shrugged. "None, I'm not a virgin if that's what you're asking" he shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "But I've technically never had a boyfriend"

"Okay then, how many..."

"People have I slept with?" she finished for him, finding his discomfort amusing, the tables had turned. "Two. I lost my virginity my fifth year and then I had a brief fling during my sixth year and that lasted for a couple of months" she shrugged.

"So you're not completely oblivious to male attention, great to know"

"What are you talking about?"

"Or maybe you are" he muttered. "Nothing, how do feel about James and Sirius?"

She frowned. "They're my friends, family even"

"That's it?"

"Yes"

"Are you sure? Because I think there's something you're not saying. Do you like James and Sirius and not platonically?" she frowned.

"I.I.I" she stuttered.

"Think about it and then come and see me. We better get those two home before they start doing a strip tease"

"Too late" Hermione said as Sirius started undoing his belt and James started to remove his jumper.

They rushed forward to stop them and then they helped them into the floo and went home.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment - Thursday 14th January 1982**

Hermione lay in bed awake, she had been trying to sleep for hours and somehow, sleep kept evading her. After rolling over and huffing for the hundredth time, she gave up on sleep. She climbed out of bed and decided to read a book.

She walked over to her book shelf and browsed the shelves, as she was running her finger over the titles she found a book that didn't have a title. She frowned and pulled it and went back to her bed. Once she was comfy she opened the book and she discovered that it was Harry's photo album, the one Hagrid had given him his first year. She had forgotten she had it.

The first few pages were filled with photos of Harry, James and Lily and then the pages started changing to ones filled with photos of Hermione and the Weasleys, Sirius and Remus.

The last photo in the album was of Harry and Hermione. It was after the Battle of the Seven Potters, they were by the lake on the Burrow's grounds. They were messing around and play fighting and then Harry picked her up and threw her into the lake. Hermione surfaced with a murderous look on her face and Harry was doubled over on himself laughing.

Hermione chuckled and ran her fingers over the photo. That was the last time Harry had laughed, in fact, it was one of the only times he had ever truly laughed. Ever enjoyed himself. Ever felt care free.

She allowed her thoughts to wander.

 _'_ _Do you like James and Sirius and not platonically?_ ' Remus' question echoed in her mind.

She flopped back on her bed and looked up at the white ceiling.

 _'_ _James? Well he's James. He's sweet and kind. He makes me laugh and smile. He thinks breakfast waffles are the best food invented. He doesn't let what others say effect him and he raises Harry the way he wants to. He stood up to Dumbledore more than once for me. He understands my bond with Harry and he doesn't take offence when I accidentally take over parenting. I don't do it on purpose, it's instinctual, it's still a reflex from before. He has a habit of watching me when I'm researching or when I'm with Harry. He's brilliant at charms, especially when playing with Harry and the magic he does to entertain him, like when he made his stuffed toys talk and move by themselves'_

 _'_ _And Sirius? He's surprisingly affectionate and gentle. He thinks everything he does is funny and I know he likes winding me up. He's a pain in the arse. He has a short fuse. He watches me when I'm in the kitchen. He's undeniably loyal and protective. He's brilliant at duelling and amazing and transfiguration spells'_

 _'_ _They quit The Order and made enemies for me. They have a habit of sitting on either side of me. They are always the ones to care for me when I'm rundown. They don't hesitate to defend me'_

She sat up suddenly. She admired them. She valued them and their opinions. She trusted them with her life.

"Oh, Merlin" she whispered. "Do I like James and Sirius?" she asked herself in shock.

And she did. She had for a while, she just hadn't realised it.

"No, no, I can't like them. It's wrong"

 _'_ _Why?'_

"Sirius was like my uncle and my best friend's godfather, and James, he's Harry's dad, the boy I share a sibling bond with. It's wrong on so many levels"

 _'_ _Ah, except you do like them. And you don't see Sirius as an uncle in this time frame. He's different to the older Sirius. And James, he's Harry's dad, but you aren't blood related. And let's face it; you're more like a mother to Harry than you are a sister. There is nothing wrong with liking both of them'_

"Yes, there is"

 _'_ _No, there's not. You're just stuck in your own head'_

"No, I'm not"

 _'_ _Then why are you arguing with yourself?'_

"Shut up"

 _'_ _You're afraid. You're afraid that James will compare you to Lily, that you will never be able to live up to her._

"James would never do that to me"

 _'_ _And Sirius, you're afraid that once he's slept with you, he'll leave like the womanizer he's known for being'_

"He hasn't even looked at another woman since I arrived"

She felt her conscience smirk at her. _'They like you, you noticed the signs long ago, you just didn't want to admit it, because then, you would have to admit that you had feelings for them too. It has nothing to do with a possible triad relationship because there's nothing wrong with those. No, you were afraid of the outcome if you admitted they liked you and you liked them in return. And now, you've admitted it. What are you going to do?'_

Hermione sighed in frustration and threw the covers off herself. She climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom. The sun was up and Sirius and James wouldn't be up for a while and when they were, they would need a hangover potion.

When she finished showering and dressing she went to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea and then she went to her room. She went into her potions lab and brewed a batch of hangover potion since they were out again. After putting the potion into vials, she labelled them and she put them away. With two vials in hand she made her way to the kitchen to start making breakfast since she could feel Harry was starting to wake up.

Once she finished breakfast she made her way to James' room. James was sprawled across the bed and she chuckled and removed Harry from his bed and took him to the kitchen.

Remus was sat at the table waiting for her with a raised eyebrow. She had dark circles under her eyes and he knew she hadn't slept a wink last night.

"Well?" he asked.

She scowled at him. "Shut up" she mumbled and he smirked.

"That's what I thought"

She cut Harry's food up for him and then put the plate in front of him and then she sat down with a sigh.

"Why is my life so complicated?" she whined and slumped forward with her head resting on the table.

"Complicated?"

"Yes, complicated. I was sent back in time to change the world. I have to steal and destroy six Horcruxes, capture fugitive Death Eaters, deal with Voldemort because once the Horcruxes are destroyed he needs to be killed. I have to deal with Dumbledore and The Order now that we've quit _and_ it turns out I like Sirius and James, which in itself is strange and complicated"

He chuckled. "Actually, it's not that strange" Remus commented. She looked up at him sceptically. "You're not related to them in any way" he shrugged. "Purebloods have been marrying cousins, aunts and uncles for hundreds of years" she grimaced. "See? Not that strange. I think it might play on your mind a bit, but you'd get used to the idea"

"You're assuming they are interested"

"They are. Have been for a while, you should've seen them the day you went on a date with the twins"

"It wasn't a date"

"It was to them, taking you to dinner rather than just going out for drinks. It was a date"

"That's why they kept asking questions about my relationship with you all" she muttered and he laughed.

"Anyway, I have never seen Sirius jealous before. Never. He wouldn't stop complaining. He and James made a plan to covertly court you" he said amused and she gawked.

"Shut up, they don't like me"

"They do"

"No, they can't"

"Why not?"

"Because I'm me"

"And?"

"Look at me" she waved her hand around.

"Yeah, you're beautiful" she snorted and he frowned.

"You know you don't have to like someone to want to sleep with them, it's biology" she shrugged. "I hated both of the guys I slept with"

"Why?"

"Slytherins" she shrugged and he gawked at her.

"You slept with a Slytherin?"

"No, I slept with two"

"But they're Slytherins"

"You sound like Ronald" she snorted. "And so what? Mind you, it all started because we got into an argument that quickly became heated"

"Who were they?"

"It's more fun to watch you try to figure out who it could've been" he scowled.

"You been spending too much time with Sirius" she nodded in agreement.

At that point they heard curses and they looked up to see two very hung over men stumble into the room.

Hermione smothered a chuckle, put the hangover potion in some coffee and handed it to them. They took it gratefully and sighed in relief once they finished their coffee.

"You are a goddess" Sirius commented and she shifted in her seat.

"I better get to work. I have a new organisation to create and I want to put some precautions in place in case Dumbledore does figure out where the Horcruxes are" she quickly left the room.

"That was odd" James commented and Remus chuckled and had a knowing look on his face.

"You know something" Sirius said and Remus nodded smugly. "Spill it Moony, or I'll send a very detailed letter to Filch that explains he is the star of one of your fantasies" James laughed loudly and Remus shivered.

"No need to go to that much trouble, I'll tell you. Merlin, imagine the reply" he shivered again and they smirked. "She knows" he said simply.

"Knows what?" James spoke confused.

"She knows"

"We got that part, but we don't understand what she knows" Sirius spoke annoyed. Remus smirked and the look made him understand immediately. "No, she can't. How?"

"Err, someone want to fill me in?" James spoke.

Sirius rounded on him.

"She knows" he said with a look in his eye that had James' eyes widen.

"How?" he asked quickly.

"I helped" Remus said smugly.

"What?"

"Well, you were taking too long and if you didn't hurry up, Fabian and Gideon would've beaten you to it. I've been watching them; they've upped the ante and have been openly flirting with Mia when you're not around. They asked her if she would take them to the muggle world for dinner"

"THEY WHAT?" they yelled.

"Calm down" Remus chuckled. "Anyway, last night when you two were slow dancing" he sniggered and they scowled. "Mia asked me if I had noticed that you two were acting strange. Something about you calling her yours and Sirius telling the goblins she was his girlfriend. Oh and apparently you two were almost stuttering and blushing messes when she kissed your cheeks" he smirked and they scowled once more. "So, I turned the conversation around and asked her how she felt about you"

"And?" they almost yelled in frustration and he just chuckled.

"She didn't know. But she's been awake all night thinking it over"

"And?" they snapped.

"And she told me this morning" he grinned.

"WELL?" they did yell this time and he laughed.

"She's confused, that's all I'm telling you. You'll have to talk to her yourself, she'll try and avoid you. I guess it's a good thing we live together and there is no chance of privacy in this place" he chuckled.

"Unless she puts a locking charm on her room" Sirius pointed out. "We can't figure out the counter charm"

"Then you take a page from Mia's book" Remus shrugged.

"What?"

"Blow the door off its hinges" they laughed.

"She's rather good at that" James said fondly.

"Guess we better go and talk to her. This is going to be one of the most awkward conversations I've ever had" Sirius muttered.

"What about the sex talk you got from Kreacher when you were twelve?" Remus interjected with a smug smile.

Sirius visibly paled and James burst out laughing.

"We made a deal to never bring that up again" he growled.

"It's great ammunition. After all, I remember you telling us how detailed he was about..." Sirius jumped up from his chair and left the room, James quickly followed laughing and leaving Harry eating his breakfast with Remus.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: First Date**

* * *

AN: SereniteRose – I don't plan for Dumbledore and Hermione to have a reconciliation, but there may be hope for Moody. We might have some Moody and Hermione apologies in future chapters, just got to decide on a way to get them to that point, if at all. I have worked out a plot line for the story you requested, it will be Hermione as Merlin's daughter, if that's alright?

lozzy035 – Yes, the twins will follow their example.

I'm glad you all liked the humour I slipped into the previous chapter. Here's another for you all.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment – Thursday 14th January 1982**

"Mia" Sirius called, knocking of her bedroom door.

"I'm busy Sirius, I have plans to make"

"Can we talk?"

"No, I'm busy, now leave me alone before I hex you" Sirius sighed and stepped away from the door.

He pulled his wand and cast spells to find that she had used a locking charm he had never seen before and he couldn't figure out how to dismantle it. Fifteen minutes later he gave up.

"I can't get through"

James chuckled. "Leave it to the expert" he said and then he stepped closer to the door.

"MIA, SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH HARRY!" he yelled. They heard a bang come from inside the room and suddenly the door was jerked open by a frantic looking Hermione.

"What? What's wrong? Where is he? Is he okay? I didn't feel anything" she said quickly.

James pushed past her and walked into her room with a smug look on his face and Sirius followed him.

"Relax, my little witch, there is nothing wrong with Harry, I just needed you to open the door so we could talk to you" he grinned.

She growled at him and his grin dropped. She eyed her wand which she had left on the bed and James followed her gaze. They both jumped for the bed at the same time. James landed on the bed and got to the wand first. Hermione landed half beside him and half on top of him and he held her wand out of reach and she stretched to get it. Sirius leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed and watching as the two struggled for the wand, amused and with a smirk on his face.

James had rolled so he was on top of her and pinned her to the bed whilst she still struggled to get the wand from him. He was more than willing to admit he liked the feeling of her wriggling beneath him.

He was shocked when she found a new burst of strength and flipped them. She sat up, straddling him and reaching for the wand he held away from her. Sirius' eyes had widened and he was stunned.

"Give me the wand, James" Hermione growled.

"No"

"Give it to me so I can hex you"

"Well I don't want you to hex me so I'm not giving you your wand" he said amused looking up at her, only just realising that she had straddled him and was moving over him and he felt his amusement fade and it was replaced by lust.

With one hand he gripped her hip and his other hand moved her wand further out of reach. She leaned forward and lost her balance, landing on her elbows on either side of his head, her hair surrounded them both and she was looking down at him shocked and breathing heavily.

They both stared at each other, never looking away from each other's eyes. His hazel brown eyes had darkened and she stared mesmerised as emotion after emotion flashed through his eyes. She could feel herself moving closer to him, her head lowering and she was powerless to stop herself.

His eyes closed and hers followed. Just before her lips touched his, she came back to her senses when she heard shuffling and remembered Sirius was in the room. She promptly sat up, climbed off him, grabbed her wand from his hand and moved away from the bed, standing in the middle of her room, keeping a distance from both James and Sirius.

James sat up slowly, never taking his eyes off her and she looked down at the floor. She wasn't blushing -in fact they hadn't seen her blush since the night of the first Order meeting- but they knew she was embarrassed and battling with herself.

"This is why we need to talk" James spoke, after clearing his throat.

"There's nothing to talk about, now I have to get back to work" she muttered.

"No, we are going to talk" Sirius said and he stepped forward and she stepped back.

"We almost kissed" James stood as well and took a step forward and she took a step back. "You have already figured out that we like you, we care for you and we have feelings for you, more than a friend should. We've been dropping hints for weeks, waiting for you to acknowledge it"

"But you see we're done with waiting. Now that we know that you know, we need to know how you feel for us" Sirius spoke.

"I don't" she mumbled.

"Really? Because I think you're lying to yourself. Moony already told us that you're confused, but you've figured it out. So out with it, how do you feel about us?"

She shook her head.

"Do you have feelings for us?"

"No" she said quickly. She peeked up at him to see him glaring at her.

"You're lying"

"No, I'm not"

"Yes, you are" he stepped forward until he was in front of her, her back against her bookcase and his hands either side of her head, caging her in. "Look at me" he whispered. Despite everything in her telling her not to, she did. She looked up to see his dark eyes boring into her with such an intensity, that she wanted to look away, but she was trapped. "Do you have feelings for us?" he whispered and she felt her breathing speed up. "I dare you to tell me the truth" he knew she could never refuse a dare, she was a Gryffindor, it wasn't in her nature to back down.

She slowly nodded and his lips curled up into a smile, she caught James smiling from the corner of her eye.

Sirius leaned forward and before he could kiss her, she ducked under his arms and moved away, he fell forward and into the bookcase and James let out a loud laugh. Sirius turned around scowling and rubbing his head where he banged it on the bookcase.

"No, we can't" she whispered.

"Why not Mia?" James asked, walking towards her. She walked backwards and her legs hit her bed. She flopped down to sit on the edge of the bed. James kneeled down in front of her and looked at her, his hazel eyes looking at her softly. "Why can't we?"

"We are at war, whether people know it or not. We have to focus, I have to focus. I can't be distracted by you. I was not sent here for any other purpose but winning the war and saving lives"

"But once everything has been dealt with you can do what you want. This is your home now. Why can't you allow yourself to be happy? Whether or not if you have feelings for us, that won't affect the outcome of the war. Your social life won't affect the outcome of the war. Your relationship status won't affect the outcome of the war. You can have fun. You can have a family. You can have someone that cares for you. You can have a life"

She shook her head and sighed. She knew that, they had been right. It wasn't healthy for her to shut herself away and research for weeks on end. She needed balance in her life. What bothered her was that it was James and Sirius.

"That's not the problem, Prongs" Sirius spoke and he moved closer. "The problem is us"

"Why?" James asked her, but he knew what she would say.

"You're my best friend's father. I share a sibling bond with him. Sirius was my friend, he was like an uncle to me. Family"

"Well, seeing as I died..."

"As did I" Sirius added cutting him off.

"I never knew you and now I do. The same with Padfoot, except he did get to know you. Well, not this Padfoot, the other one"

"I don't see you as a niece" Sirius spoke.

"And I don't see you as a daughter or the best friend of my son"

"Instead, we see a stunningly beautiful, loyal, protective..."

"Powerful, loving, caring witch"

"That's wrong, you can't do that, you can't do twin speak, my mind can't take it" she whined and they chuckled at her.

"You don't see us the way you described us. If you did you wouldn't be so panicked. You're panicked because you're worried about something. We want to at least take you on a date. See if this can go anywhere" she shook her head. "Why not?"

"I'm not Lily" she whispered but he heard.

He put his hand under her chin and tipped her head up so she had to look at him.

"I know you're not" he softly. "I'll admit they are some similarities between you two, but there are more differences than there are chocolate bars that Moony has stashed" Hermione couldn't help the small smile. "I haven't even looked at another woman since the day I fell in love with Lily, I haven't looked at another after her death either. Or I hadn't until I met you. I didn't date after Lily's death and after I had mourned, I didn't date evidently because of the war. But also because I didn't want to betray her memory, hurt myself or someone else. But you, I want to risk that feeling to see if I could have a future with you in my life"

She looked up at Sirius. "I'm not like them, your previous _partners_. I can't and won't be a one night stand"

"I know that. I'm not the person I used to be Mia. In school I'll admit I was..."

"A man whore" James cut him off with a smirk. "Womanizer, flirt..."

"Sexually active" he glared at James.

He snorted. "Like a rabbit" Hermione let out a small laugh.

"My point is that I wasn't celibate. I didn't date, but I did partake in sexual acts. When I met Marlene, we had a purely physical relationship and we both agreed it was nothing more. For a year I slept with no one but her. Then she died and I returned to my previous ways. But then you came along and you changed me without even realising it. I haven't even looked at another woman since you got here" she knew he was telling the truth. "This is territory none of us have been in before. James and I have feelings for the same woman, that's never happened before. James was pining for Lily for seven years..."

"It was not pining"

"It was. And I was..."

"Sleeping around like a Knockturn Alley worker"

Sirius shot him a glare. "Like I was saying, we have never had to deal with this before. Triad relationships can be both difficult and simple. One is always bound to agree with another, upsetting the last member but they do work. It's why they are uncommon, but they tend to be powerful too. Prongs and I have realised that we don't want to compete for your attention, it wouldn't be right. So either it's both of us or neither of us. And to be honest, we prefer the former. If you agree to this we will be with no one but you"

"I haven't been with anyone since Lily"

"I haven't been with anyone since you arrived. We'll take this as slow as you want until you feel comfortable" he gave her a look of meaning and she couldn't help but snort with laughter.

"I'm not a virgin" she said rolling her eyes and their eyes widened at her blunt statement.

"You're not?" they both said shocked.

"No"

"How many?" Sirius asked with a frown.

"You should never ask a woman questions about her sex life"

"How many?" James repeated.

"Two" she said with a sigh.

Sirius relaxed at her answer and James shrugged.

"Who were they?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Not telling you. You'll have a fit" she said and he raised an eyebrow.

James shot him a look seeing he was going to ask again and he shut his mouth.

"So, Mia, we like you, you like us. There is only one thing left to do" James said.

"Go on a date with us?" Sirius asked. She didn't answer. Sirius moved forward, put his hands on the bed either side of her and leaned down.

"Go on a date with us?" he repeated, whispering with his eyes locked on to hers.

Against her better judgement, her conscience was screaming at her to accept. She slowly and uncertainly nodded her head.

Both Sirius and James beamed widely.

"Great, let's see" James said grinning. "Tomorrow? Remus can watch Harry"

Hermione nodded again.

There was a knock at the door and Hermione looked up when she heard voices. Advanced hearing really was a gift. Sirius and James heard it too and they moved away from her. She stood up, cleared her throat and walked out of the room.

Sirius and James grinned at each other and then followed after her, waltzing back to the living room with a spring in their step.

"Fabian, Gideon? What are you doing here?" she asked with a smile

"Hey, Mia. We want to help you" they chorused from their places on the couch. She blinked.

"What?"

"We want to help you" Fabian said. "To be honest, we don't like the way Dumbledore and Moody have treated you. We don't exactly know what it takes to find and destroy these Horcruxes, but it can't be easy given what it takes to create one"

"They shouldn't be forcing you to move quicker if it will affect your health" Gideon spoke. "And we can't believe that you walked out, quit even -"

"- Stuck it to the man -"

"- Told them to shove it where the sun doesn't shine" they grinned. "But we want to help you. Knowing you, you probably already have plans to continue with your mission, just not telling them about it and leaving them to continue scrambling around" Gideon grinned.

"Quite ingenious, we love it" Fabian winked at her and for the first time, she noticed them flirting with her.

"So, seeing as Dumbledore has Snape spying and tracking rogue Death Eaters, we thought that we could spy on Dumbledore for you"

"Why?" Sirius asked, watching them carefully.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but Dumbledore's been a bit..." Gideon trailed off not being able to think of a word.

"Of an arsehole?" James provided.

"An arsehole" he nodded in thanks. "We trust you and not him. You know what you're doing and he doesn't. You can bloody well crack a smile, while he sits there like he's been hit in the face with dragon shit" they snorted at him.

"So, we'll keep an eye on The Order for you, our allegiance is to you" Fabian said.

"No, I am not some dictator. I am just someone who wants this word safe. You will not work _for_ me. You will work _with_ me. I won't order you to do things, but I may ask. It will be your choice; everything will be your choice" Hermione spoke.

"See? Told you she was a better choice than Dumbledore" Fabian said to Gideon, who rolled his eyes.

"I know, I agreed with you. If only you arrived before you did, so many more lives could've been saved" Gideon spoke.

"I was sent back to October 31st 1981, I don't know why it was that date specifically, it just was. There is nothing I can do about the past, but the future I can change" she said. "We will have to have as little contact as possible in case your movements are being tracked. We don't want you getting caught. Speaking of which, Moody, can he track me?"

"If he wants to yes, but he'll need a good enough reason as to why he's using Ministry employees to track down an innocent citizen, in case he is caught. He'll likely have some of the junior aurors do it, have you followed"

"But the good news is, the aurors who are members, well, let's just say Moody has pissed them off one too many times, the same with Dumbledore. They want to help you. They'll keep Moody off your back whilst you complete your mission" Fabian spoke and she nodded.

"That's one less thing to worry about, I'll research some charms and spells to block tracking as an extra precaution"

"Molly and Arthur have also had a falling out with Dumbledore" Gideon spoke.

"Why?" Remus spoke up, sat on the floor with Harry playing with a stuffed dragon.

"They heard about you four quitting, and when I say heard, I mean we told them" Fabian grinned and they rolled their eyes.

"Molly headed straight over to the meeting before it ended last night, she was yelling and shrieking. Dumbledore told her that you all turned traitor to The Order. She didn't believe a word of it, but she made him think she did. She's on your side, she's spent enough time with you to know you would never do anything to harm anyone, also, she said something about your magic being bonded to the Burrow" he shrugged.

"The point is, Molly and Arthur wish to help you too, even if it's only looking after Harry when you're in a bind" Fabian said.

"Kingsley didn't look happy either, neither did Snape for that matter which was surprising. McGonagall looked like she wanted to argue, but held her tongue. Dumbledore and Moody better know what they're doing otherwise she's going to lose it" Gideon spoke in a sing song voice.

"Thank you for letting us know, welcome to the White Lions" she said and they grinned at the name.

"I like it, way better than The Order of the Phoenix"

"Yeah, it's such a mouthful" his twin agreed.

"Well, we better get to work before Moody gets suspicious" they stood and after their goodbyes they left.

"Seems as though we have some new members" Hermione spoke after the door closed behind them.

"Can they be trusted?" Sirius asked her.

"Molly and Arthur, definitely, Fabian and Gideon, yes, the junior aurors, my instincts are telling me yes. They hate Moody and Dumbledore, a lot of their friends died unnecessarily during battles when we had tracked rogue Death Eaters. Dumbledore ignored the precautions and warnings I gave him and because of it, people died. The junior aurors don't trust Dumbledore. They've seen me stand up to him numerous times as well as Moody" she shrugged.

"Not to mention, you kicked his arse" Sirius said proudly and she snorted.

"Right, I better get back to work"

* * *

 **Muggle London – Friday 15th January 1982**

"So where are we going?" Hermione asked as they made their way down a muggle street.

"Well, in Hogwarts we were told about this game muggles like to play. Apparently it's loads of fun and we never got the chance to play" James shrugged and they turned right, stopping in front of a large metal fence, and a large illuminated sign.

"Crazy golf?" she said in disbelief.

"Crazy golf" Sirius grinned.

She chuckled and led them through the gates. They paid, collected their golf balls and clubs and made their way to the first obstacle. It was seven tubes and they had to get the golf ball through the middle one.

"Ladies first" James said bowing.

Hermione turned to Sirius expectantly. "You heard him Padfoot, ladies first"

James burst out laughing and Sirius mock glared at her.

Hermione showed him what to do and he hit the golf ball, it went off to the left and stopped before the first tube. He frowned. James went next, his golf ball went to the right and stopped in front of the last tube. Hermione went last, she hit the golf ball and it went expertly through the middle tube and passed onto the other side and went straight into the hole in the ground.

They stared at her.

"I may be abysmal at Quidditch, but here on my own turf, I am quite good at crazy golf" she grinned and they huffed which made her laugh.

The date continued in the same way. Laughing, joking, Hermione teasing James and Sirius and them faking outrage and annoyance.

"You're cheating" James accused after she putted the golf ball on the fourteenth hole.

"No, you're just pants" she said simply. "Come on, stop pouting. There's only four more courses to go" she pushed him forward.

Once they completed the course, they handed their golf balls and clubs in and made their way out of the gates.

"Okay, now that you completely embarrassed us" Sirius said and she snorted. "I need feeding, so muggle food, what do you suggest?"

She thought for a moment. "Have you ever had Chinese?"

"You eat people?" James said in outrage and disgust.

She burst out laughing at his confusion. "No, Chinese food. Food that is indigenous to China, but restaurants all around the world now serve, but judging by your reaction I'll take that as a no. There's a restaurant about ten minutes from here"

They offered their arms for her, she rolled her eyes but slipped her arms through theirs and they made their way to the restaurant.

Once they were seated they looked at the menu, Hermione already knew what she wanted and she could see James and Sirius looking confused so when the waiter came over, she order for them.

The food arrived not long later.

"Are you sure this is edible?" James asked, poking his chow main with his chopsticks. Hermione snorted and as a reply, she used her chopsticks to pick up some food and put it into her mouth.

They both watched her before copying her movements. She sat back and watched them amused as they failed to use the chopsticks. Ten minutes later they still hadn't managed to successfully use them and she shook her head. She removed the two bobbles she had on her wrist, and wrapped one around their chopsticks so they could handle them better.

They looked relieved when they could finally use them.

"This stuff is really good" James commented.

Sirius nodded in agreement as he put more food into his mouth. She handed them each a prawn cracker.

"We're getting some of these to go" she laughed at him.

Through dinner they talked and ate in comfort. There was no awkwardness like she thought there would be. It felt normal. It felt right.

When they left the restaurant carrying bags of food they bought to go, Hermione kissed their cheeks and they grinned before heading down an alley way and apparating to Diagon Alley. They had a few drinks in the Leaky Cauldron and spoke to Tom and then flooed back to the apartment.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment**

"Thank you" she spoke to them once they entered the apartment. "It was a lovely date"

They grinned. "Better than the date with the twins?" Sirius asked.

"That wasn't a date"

"Maybe not for you"

"Fine, yes, but I can't remember the majority of it, I am never drinking that much again" she said and they chuckled.

She kissed their cheeks once more and turned to head to her room. They both grinned and flopped down on the couch.

Remus walked into the living room with an amused look on his face.

"Harry's asleep" he said sitting down on one of the arm chairs.

"Thanks, Moony" James said.

"So, how was it?"

They grinned and he chuckled.

"She kicked our arses at crazy golf" Sirius said proudly.

"He's not kidding, she got the golf ball in the hole in no more than three hits, sometimes just one, it took us close to ten" Remus chuckled.

"She took us to a Chinese restaurant, it was amazing. Brought you some back. And we've put a stasis charm on the rest of it so we can have it for lunch tomorrow"

"She kissed our cheeks! Twice" James bragged.

"So it was successful then?"

"I'm actually glad you got involved, it moved everything along nicely. We would probably still be dropping hints by now"

Remus shrugged. "As a Marauder, it is my duty to provide help where I can. Besides, it was getting ridiculous. You mooning after her like love sick puppies" they scowled at him and he laughed. "When's the next date?"

"Next week" they grinned.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Babysitter**

* * *

lozzy035 – I can't imagine Snape being the type of person to approach them, but I do plan to have him a part of the White Lions.

SereniteRose – I'm more than glad to write a story that you or my reviewers request. I already have the plot figured out, but Hermione won't be controlling the elements in that fanfic, I do plan to have her controlling the elements in my next story though – Fred/Hermione/ George. I already have a fair amount of chapters written so I am ahead of schedule for that, as usual, when this fanfic is complete, I will post the first chapter of my next one on the same day. But don't worry, in any fanfic I write Hermione will be a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

 **Lupin Cottage - Saturday 23rd January 1982**

Hermione, James and Sirius had attended their second date. It had gone just as well as their first and Hermione was grateful that they kept everything casual. Their first date they took her mini-golfing. Their second date they took her to a muggle zoo where they laughed and talked for hours and Hermione once more kissed their cheeks, leaving Sirius and James grinning.

Now they were on their third date. They had taken her back to Lupin Cottage so they could have a picnic and wander and explore the woods.

Hermione was surprised that she didn't feel awkward around them giving the situation they were in. In their presence she was relaxed, happy... content. She shook her head and answered the question James just asked her.

"Hide and seek"

"What?"

"Hide and seek. You're it" she stood up quickly from her place on the blanket and ran from them both. Ducking and diving between trees, diving under low tree branches and jumping over roots and logs.

She could hear their laughter echoing through the woods. When she reached a large tree, the largest she had seen, she proceeded to climb it until she was perched out of sight on a tree branch. She could see below her, but they wouldn't be able to see her, unless they were looking closely.

She heard twigs crunching under the weight of someone and she looked down to see James. He had climbed the tree until he was eye level with her. He smirked at her and she chuckled.

"You're going to have to do better than that to hide from Padfoot, his senses are stronger than mine and I found you straight away" he said amused.

She grinned at him and then proceeded to climb back down the tree until her feet were on the ground and he followed her.

They could hear movement in the distance, they looked at each other before sprinting forward. They ran for several minutes, until James stopped panting with his hands on his knees.

"We need to lose him"

Hermione strained her hearing, she heard something in the distance and she grinned.

She grabbed his hand and dragged him forward. He groaned in protest and she laughed.

"This way, I can hear something" she said.

They ran forward and after five minutes they came to a stop by a large pond, it wasn't big enough to be a lake but it still fairly big.

"Do you trust me?" she asked with a scary grin.

"I want to say yes, but that look on your face tells me I should run for the hills and not look back" he said, watching her warily. She laughed loudly.

Before he could stop her she gave a push on his chest and he fell backwards, landing in the water with a splash.

He emerged from the water with a look of disbelief on his face and she was laughing madly.

She took deep breaths before slowly walking into the pond herself, immersing herself up to her waist. The water was surprisingly warm considering they were in the woods, in the middle of winter.

"Why did you do that?" he asked with a scowl, but she could see the amusement in his eyes.

"It will cover our scent and Sirius won't be able to track us, it was either water or mud"

"Water it is" he nodded and she laughed.

When she was distracted he propelled forward, knocking her off her feet and she fell backwards, her entire body going under the water. She emerged from the water, pushing her hair out of her face and laughing disbelievingly. She should've seen it coming.

He chuckled at her from his place stood in front of her. She stopped laughing when she realised how close he was, they were almost touching. They stared at each other, and they didn't dare move.

Slowly James started moving forward and before he kissed her, they heard a rustling and twigs breaking. They quickly pulled away, Hermione pulled her wand and cast the bubble-head charm on herself and James and then she dunked her head under water just before Sirius emerged looking for them, James following her lead.

They stared at each other under the water. Hermione looked up after several minutes to see Sirius' shadow move over the water. She waited a few minutes before breaking through the surface of the water, James following her.

She looked around to see no one and she grinned.

"I think we've won" she said smugly.

"Yeah, I think we did" he said distracted, his attention on her mouth. She noticed and unconsciously her tongue darted out to lick her lips. He looked up to see her watching him as he was watching her.

Once more he moved forward and she did too. They stopped, their lips almost touching. They stayed that way for a few more seconds before Hermione lost her patience. She pressed her lips against his softly, before pulling back to look at him. He looked a little shocked, before a small smile appeared on his face.

He leaned in once more to kiss her, this time he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him, splashing about in the water and Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck.

He kissed her softly and once more Hermione grew impatient. She flicked her tongue against his bottom lip, wanting entrance and he parted his mouth for her. He took over and dominated the kiss, his tongue entering her mouth and he explored her mouth languidly.

They weren't sure how long they had been kissing for but they pulled away to look at each other when they heard rustling. A wide grin broke out on both of their faces and they laughed at each other.

Unknown to them, Sirius had back tracked and caught them kissing. He smirked and shook his head chuckling. He decided to make his presence known and he cleared his throat.

They both turned to look at him quickly and he laughed.

"That's cheating; you cancelled out my sense of smell"

"That was the whole point" Hermione rolled her eyes and moved away from James and made her way out of the pond. When they were both out she cast drying charms.

"Still, it's cheating" he scowled. "Prongs, your turn" and with that said, both he and Hermione turned and ran back towards where they had eaten. They weaved in out of trees, before they decided to climb the largest tree they came across. They climbed so high the leaves on the magically charmed trees hid them out of sight.

They looked down to see that James had run past their tree and they grinned.

Sirius turned to look at her. He was perched on a tree branch close to hers. So close that she could lean against him comfortably without risk of falling. They heard a loud curse and a crash and they guessed that James had tripped over and fallen flat on his face.

They looked at each other and started laughing. Sirius couldn't help the smile that lit his face when she laughed, she flung her head back and her curls tumbled down her back, as the care free sound left her.

She stopped laughing when she realised that he was just staring at her. She looked at him and he was staring at her with such an intensity it caused her to shiver, he noticed and smirked.

Sirius leaned forward and before she could speak, he kissed her sweetly. He pulled away with a little nip at her bottom lip and she gasped and moaned, he quickly thrust his tongue into her mouth and immediately set about exploring. She twisted slightly and wrapped her arms around his neck, one hand going into his hair and he groaned when she tugged and his hands went to her hips.

Unlike James who was gentle and sweet, Sirius was like fiendfyre. He didn't hold back and he was taking what he wanted. He wasn't hesitant, like James had been at first and he definitely wasn't shy about snogging her brains out in a tree either.

They heard a throat clearing and when they pulled away from each other breathless, they looked down to see that James was sat a few branches down from them and chuckling.

They looked at each other and all started to laugh. When they calmed down Hermione smiled at them and sighed.

"We better get back; we've been out for over five hours. With Dumbledore and Moody's paranoia, it's not safe for us to be out for long periods of time" they looked less than pleased but agreed with her.

They all climbed down the large tree, headed back to the picnic they had set up, they packed away and then apparated back to Diagon Alley.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment**

When they arrived, Harry had been put to bed and Remus was in the living room, reading with a cup of tea.

"You're back early" he observed.

"It's not safe for us to be out for too long" Hermione shrugged and he nodded. "Speaking of safety, we need to go over some plans" they sat down and turned their attention to her. "Right, the White Lions, we only have a small amount of members..."

"How many again?" James asked.

"Seventeen. Us four, Molly and Arthur, Fabian and Gideon, eight junior aurors and Kingsley"

"Kingsley?" the three men said confused.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, when you were all still in bed, Kingsley dropped by this morning before going to the Ministry. He wants to join us; he's a senior auror and has more authority than the juniors, which means he is trusted more by Dumbledore. He will be able to keep an eye on him for us, as well as the junior aurors in case they mess up. He is also able to meet with us as he's trained to avoid being tracked and seen" she shrugged. They stared. "Anyway, we have seventeen members, nowhere near as many as The Order, but numbers don't matter. We have a better set up. The rest of our group trust me to not put them in harm's way, unless I would do it myself. They know that I'll take every precaution I can to keep them safe. They all have their individual roles but we have to work together. The Order is run by Dumbledore and Moody is his second in command. I may have founded the White Lions, but I will not give out orders, everyone has a choice" they smiled proudly.

"Anyway, we need to talk about the Horcruxes. We have four left, the diary is in the possession of the Malfoys. The ring is somewhere in Little Hangleton. The locket is at Grimmauld. The last one, I am the only person to know its where abouts, let alone its identity. Dumbledore will never figure that one out. So we focus on the other three. If he were to discover them, which would he most likely go for first?" she asked.

They all had thoughtful looks.

"Dumbledore discovered the ring in my time by visiting with the last remaining Gaunt in Azkaban. So that is a possibility. If he was to discover the locket at Grimmauld, would your mother cooperate with him?" she asked Sirius.

He burst out laughing and they stared at him. "Merlin, no. She hates him more than she hates me" he shook his head. "Plus, he's a half-blood; she wouldn't even let him breathe the air around Grimmauld"

"He can't do anything to persuade her?"

"Nope"

"That's safe for now then, what about the diary?"

"From what I can remember Narcissa wasn't that bothered about blood purity, she had a muggleborn best friend in school. Dumbledore may offer her something for a trade" he frowned. "If we can get close enough to the manor, she may talk to us" he said thoughtfully.

"So that's our next move then, we'll go for the diary. Owl her and ask for a meeting for tomorrow. It should be safe for me to destroy another one now"

* * *

 **Malfoy Manor - Sunday 24th January 1982**

Hermione and Sirius apparated just outside of the wards at Malfoy Manor. Even from the distance they were at, she could still see the large and imposing white manor up ahead. Sirius looked to Hermione to see that she looked less than pleased to be there and he remembered her torture sessions.

He growled unconsciously and she jumped in shock. He put his arm around her and pulled her to his side and kissed her forehead.

"Let's get this over with" he said softly. She nodded and together they walked up the large gravelled driveway towards the manor.

It took them ten minutes to reach the daunting, dark wooden doors, but when they did they opened immediately. A house elf stepped out from behind them and Hermione's breath caught... it was Dobby.

"Mistress is waitings for Lord Blacks and his friends in the Mistress' lounge" he informed them, clicking his fingers and the door shut behind them. "May Dobby takes the Lord Black's ands the Miss' cloaks?" they each removed their winter cloaks and Dobby snapped his fingers and they disappeared. "Follows me please" he bowed and then turned to walk across the white marble entrance way.

He led them to the second floor and to a room at the end of the hallway, with the door open. Hermione could hear Narcissa Malfoy pleading with a screaming Draco Malfoy to stop crying and house elves were running around trying to calm him down. They stepped into the room and Hermione looked around.

The white marble floor shined, the walls were a lilac floral pattern, the two large couches were white with lilac and silver cushions and the large glass coffee table was filled with several tea cups and china, a teapot, milk, sugar cubes and a selection of biscuits and cakes.

Narcissa looked up when they entered and Hermione could vaguely remember her from the Final Battle. Now she looked exhausted, dark circles under her eyes, her cheeks sunken and her blonde hair limp.

"Sirius" she greeted tiredly and she held her hand out to him. He took it as was customary and kissed the back of it.

"Cissy" he greeted.

She then looked to Hermione. "And Miss?"

"Mia Granger" she held her hand out and she took it instantly and shook it.

"I don't know that name" she commented.

"I'm a muggleborn"

Hermione purposely wore a short sleeved blouse, wanting to see her reactions. Surprisingly she didn't seem that bothered by that announcement.

When Hermione went to pull her hand away Narcissa looked down and gasped loudly when she caught sight of Hermione's scarred arm.

"Who did that to you?" she asked with an angry tone that would've knocked Hermione onto her arse in shock if she didn't have a good stance and Sirius wasn't stood behind her.

"Bellatrix Lestrange"

Narcissa looked at her sadly, the exact same way Sirius had when he had found out. "I am incredibly sorry, and injustice has been done to you"

"It wasn't your doing" Hermione replied and then she turned her attention to the screaming child on the floor.

The house elves still hadn't managed to calm him down. It struck Hermione as amusing, he looked exactly like he did in third year when he had the temper tantrum over Buckbeak. But she was getting a headache and they needed to talk.

"May I?" Hermione gestured to the screaming child.

"There's nothing that can be done, he's been that way since Lucius was incarcerated" she said sadly.

Hermione walked forward and kneeled down in front of the crying child. He stopped crying and looked up at her and the look on his face broke her heart. He started screaming again.

Hermione reached forward and without thought scooped him up into her arms and she held him to her as she stood up. She started pacing and humming and he started to calm down instantly. His screams dying down into cries, then to whines, then to sniffles and finally his breathing evened out and he had fallen asleep in her arms.

Narcissa was staring at her in awe and Sirius with a soft smile. Narcissa closed her mouth, she was Lady Malfoy after all and she couldn't be seen stunned, what would her husband say?

She turned to look at Sirius and raised an eyebrow at the goofy smile he had on his face. Hermione walked over to the play pen that was in the room and tried to put Draco down, but he clung to her in his sleep, refusing to let go. She chuckled and stood back up making her way over to Narcissa and Sirius.

They stared at her before taking seats on the couches, Narcissa on one, Sirius, Hermione and the sleeping Draco in her arms on the other opposite her.

"How did you do that?" Narcissa asked, pouring tea into the expensive china.

"Do what?" Hermione asked, shuffling Draco in her arms to get more comfortable.

"Settle him down; no one has been able to do that"

"Oh, I don't know, it was easy really, it's what I do for Harry" she shrugged.

"Harry Potter?"

"Yes"

She looked in-between Sirius and Hermione.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is the nature of your relationship?"

"Mia is my..." Sirius and Hermione looked at each other. With a quick decision and a small smile and nod from her, he turned back to Narcissa. "She's my girlfriend" he grinned.

She raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. _'Interesting'_ she thought. In all of the twenty-two years she had known him, he had never once attached himself to a witch. Especially with a title such as that, and he had never looked so smitten.

"Let's get down to business" Narcissa said. "I'm sure there's a reason as to why you owled out of the blue, I haven't heard from you since Lucius' trial"

"I wish this was a social call Cissy, but we need your help" she raised an eyebrow.

"First though" Hermione interjected. "Why are you not able to settle down Draco?" if she was surprised that Hermione knew her son's name, she didn't show it.

"He cries for his father, he doesn't understand why he isn't here. We have to give him nutrition potions just to prevent him from malnourishment because he won't eat. He doesn't sleep much either, he's too young for any form of a sleeping potion. It'll be this way until he learns that his father was wrongfully incarcerated" she said sadly.

That peaked Hermione's interest. "Wrongly incarcerated?" she repeated in a neutral tone.

Narcissa nodded. "Lucius was initiated into the ranks of Death Eaters through his father, he didn't wish to serve him, but he did what he had to do to protect his family. His father gave him to You Know Who on a silver platter before he died" she said unkindly. "We were mainly used for financial support; however, Lucius was placed under the Imperius many times when it came to missions and revels"

Hermione looked at her, trying to detect if she was telling the truth.

"Mrs Malfoy..." Hermione began, but she was cut off.

"Oh, call me Cissy" she said and Hermione couldn't help the small smile.

"Cissy, what are your views on muggleborns?" she asked staring at her.

"I don't believe in blood supremacy" she said simply. "A witch is a witch, regardless of their blood line. I had a muggleborn best friend during Hogwarts, Jessica, she was a Ravenclaw. She was murdered a year after we graduated"

"I am sorry to hear that"

Narcissa nodded and delicately patted her mouth down with a napkin. "My husband however, he was raised to believe that purebloods were superior and anything below that was weak and disgusting. So was I for that matter, but I have a brain of my own and I make my own decisions. I kept quiet about by beliefs, I didn't want to end up like Andromeda. Lucius and I had an arranged marriage, I hated him at first" she said fondly. "Couldn't stand the pompous man. We argued regularly about our beliefs and slowly I could see him changing, he was starting to see things the way they should be seen. I even got him to eat muggle food once, the look on his face" she chuckled.

Hermione couldn't believe the man Narcissa was describing, all she could remember was the man that sneered at her in her second year and dropped the diary in Ginny Weasley's arms. The diary...

"He was starting to see things the way I saw them, then he was forced to take the mark"

"So you're saying that he was Imperioed?" Sirius said and Narcissa nodded.

He and Hermione shared a look and she nodded. She would follow it up; if it was true an innocent man was in prison.

"Well" Sirius cleared his throat. "As I said before, we need your help"

"In what way?"

"We believe that you have an item that we need. It was left by Voldemort" Narcissa flinched and Hermione rolled her eyes. _'Merlin woman, he lived with you for over a year'_ she thought. "It was left by Voldemort and was in the possession of Abraxas Malfoy, since his passing, it should still be in this manor somewhere"

"Why do you need it?" she asked.

Once more Sirius and Hermione shared a look and she sighed.

"I am going to tell you something and you can't tell anyone else" she gave her a look that had her putting her tea down and sitting up straight, nodding in agreement. "Voldemort isn't dead. He is just defeated. He is still out there somewhere. He had precautions in place that allowed him to be almost invincible. We have to get rid of him for good. For this to happen we have to destroy these precautions. One of those precautions is in this manor" she stared in complete disbelief.

"Ar..are you certain?"

"I am"

"So that's what The Order's got you doing these days"

"We aren't working for The Order" Sirius said and she raised an eyebrow. "We quit not long back. Mia is the only person that is capable of completing this mission, it is dangerous. Every time she destroys one of Voldemort's precautions she becomes magically exhausted. Dumbledore and Moody were forcing her to do it quicker, but it would kill her. Dumbledore has also been pushing James to allow him to use Harry as bait" Narcissa was disgusted.

"Why are you still completing this mission if you no longer work for The Order?"

"I came here with this mission before I even informed The Order about these precautions. I know where they are and how to destroy them. They know how to destroy them but not where they are. I'm going to get it done before they even have the chance to find them, of course I'm not going to tell them"

Narcissa smirked. "That's very Slytherin of you"

"Not the first time I've heard those words" she grinned and they laughed at her. "Dumbledore is having Sirius, James Potter, Remus Lupin and myself followed. But we have inside members of The Order helping to cover our tracks"

"I want to help in any way I can. Vo-Vol-Voldemort..." she gasped out and Hermione stared proudly. "He ruined my life, my family's life. He took my husband and my son's father. If he will return I want to help prevent that"

Sirius and Hermione shared a look.

"Welcome to the White Lions" they both said and she stared in shock before raising an eyebrow.

"What?" Hermione said and she shook her head chuckling. "You know you can't tell anyone about what we've discussed, right?"

"I understand, what is this precaution that I must find?"

"It is a diary. It's dark brown leather, almost black in colour. There will be no writing inside of it, but there will be a name written on the cover. Tom Marvolo Riddle. When you find it, do not touch it and stay away from it. And most importantly, _do not_ , write in it. It is an extremely dark magical artefact that will work its way into your emotional and mental state. It will take advantage of you and force you to do things that you cannot take back" Narcissa nodded with a frown.

"I'll look into your husband" Hermione said and Narcissa's eyes shot up to hers. "If what you say about him is true, he has been wrongfully incarcerated. I'll look into his case and see what I can do. I'm not promising anything though"

"Thank you" she said genuinely.

"And if you need help calming Draco down, just floo Sirius' apartment. I know he's a handful and it's only going to get worse" Hermione said chuckling.

"You live together? How do you know so much about my son?" she asked cautiously.

"Yes, we live together, along with James, Remus and Harry. And the rest is a story for another time" she stood up and walked over to the play pen and tried to put the sleeping child down. After a few minutes she gave up because he just tightened his hold on her in his sleep. She heard Sirius chuckling and she turned to scowl at him.

"Cissy?" Hermione spoke. "You look exhausted. Would you like me to watch him for the night? He doesn't seem to want to let go of me" Narcissa looked hesitant. "He'll be at the apartment with Remus, James, Sirius, Harry and myself. It'll be good for him to have another child to play with, it might take his mind off his father. He might even eat"

Narcissa slowly nodded and had one of the house elves pack a bag for Draco.

"He's just a floo away, you can check up on him if you want, we'll have you keyed into the floo" Sirius said shrugging.

"It's quite alright" she said nervously and looking at her child, who was still clutching to Hermione. "For some reason he seems to be comfortable around you, he trusts you. I've never seen him that way with anyone, not even myself"

"If things go well, he and Harry could have regular play dates, maybe even with the Weasleys" Hermione said. "Is he allergic to anything that I should know about?" Narcissa shook her head no.

The house elf arrived and handed the bag to Hermione and he brought their cloaks. They had to be magicked onto both Draco and Hermione. Hermione said her goodbyes and calmed a worried Narcissa before heading for the doors.

Narcissa held Sirius back for a few moments. "Girlfriend?" he nodded and eyed her carefully. "I like her; she'll be good for you, although I've never seen her before"

"Like Mia said, that's a long story for another time. And remember, once you've found the diary, don't touch it and stay away"

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment**

They flooed into the apartment from the Leaky Cauldron. Remus, James and Harry were sat eating lunch at the kitchen table.

"Mia, did you adopt without telling us?" Remus asked amused.

She rolled her eyes. "No, you silly wolf, this is Draco Malfoy" she and Sirius sat down at the table, Draco still asleep in her arms. "He wouldn't stop screaming, apparently he hasn't stopped since Lucius' trial. He hasn't been eating or sleeping, Narcissa looks just as bad. They couldn't calm him down so I stepped in" she shrugged. "He hasn't let go of me in two hours, every time I try to put him down he grips me tighter" they chuckled at her. "I said we'd watch him for the night so Narcissa could get some sleep. Maybe being with Harry will distract him enough for us to feed him"

They nodded.

"How did your talk go?" James asked, wiping Harry's face free from tomato sauce.

"Quite well actually, she doesn't care for blood supremacy. She looked rather upset that Bellatrix was the one to give me my scar. She's agreed to look for the diary and she wants to help us, so she's a new member" they didn't bother questioning her, she had impeccable instincts. She was right about Dumbledore after all. "I'm also going to look into Lucius' case" that earned her raised eyebrows.

"Why? He was convicted" Remus said.

"Narcissa claims that he was forced into being a Death Eater by his father"

"And you believe that?"

"It happens, it happened with Draco" she looked down at the sleeping child and she chuckled. "Who would've thought I'd be babysitting the first person that called me a mudblood?" she shook her head. "Anyway, she claims that Lucius was mainly a financial supporter, but when it came to missions and revels he was Imperioed. If this is true he is innocent. There are spells that can detect leftover traces of the Imperius Curse up to a year after use. We cast the spell and take the results to the Minister, simple as that"

"What about the financial support?" James asked.

"Well, the punishment for that are fines, but Lucius has been in Azkaban since early November, that's over three months. That is far more punishment than needed" she looked at Sirius.

He hadn't told anyone about what happened in Azkaban, but they knew it haunted him and he had only been there for eight days, Lucius Malfoy had been there far longer.

They moved to the living room and Hermione tried to put Draco on the couch but he still wouldn't let go and they laughed at her.

"He's even worse than Harry" Sirius commented and she grumbled and sat on the couch. To make herself comfortable she laid down on her back and Draco was sprawled across her chest like a new born baby.

Hermione fell asleep.

"She let me introduce her to Cissy as my girlfriend" Sirius said to James.

"She did?" he said shocked. Sirius grinned and James reciprocated. "We have a girlfriend" he said and they laughed.

"Moony, you're next" Sirius said and Remus groaned.

Hermione woke up and an hour before they usually had dinner, what woke her was the shifting on her chest.

She opened her eyes to see Draco staring at her confused.

"Hey" she said softly and she held him as she sat up straight.

"Mama" he said.

"She's very tired, so she's asked me to look after you" she said softly and with a kind smile. "You will be sleeping here tonight and we are going to have loads of fun. My name is Mia"

"Mi-mi-mia" he got out and he beamed and clapped when Hermione nodded proudly. "And" she turned him around so he could see the others playing on the floor. "That is Moony" she pointed to Remus who waved. "Prongs" she pointed to James and he waved. "That is Harry" she pointed to him and he giggled and clapped and held up his dragon for Draco to see. "And that is Padfoot" she pointed to Sirius who grinned and stood up.

He changed into Padfoot and Draco gasped and stared. Padfoot waltzed over to him and stood up with his front paws on the couch. He licked Draco's cheek and the child in question giggled and squirmed. Hermione chuckled.

"I'm going to make dinner and you will be eating, Little Man" Hermione said to Draco. Hermione stood up and placed Draco on the floor next to Harry.

The two children immediately began playing with the large pile of stuffed toys that surrounded them. It amazed Hermione. She never thought she'd see the day that Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter were in the same room without glaring at each other, let alone laughing and pretending to play wizards and dragons.

"It's so weird" she said and she heard laughter. She turned to see Remus and James laughing at her expression. It was a strange mixture of pride and horror.

"I'm making dinner" she muttered and walked out of the room.

* * *

Later that night after she had watched everything Draco ate, she was pleased and afterwards she had Sirius and James bath the boys whilst she cleaned up, they were dressed in their pajamas and they sat in the living room.

They made a fort and they were sat underneath as Hermione gave them each a cookie and some milk and she read them a story. Halfway through the story both boys had fallen asleep. Hermione was in the middle of them and they were both clinging to her, Draco on her right with his stuffed hippogriff -which made her laugh- and his soft green and silver blanket, and Harry on her left with his stuffed dragon and soft red and gold blanket. The colour choices made her roll her eyes.

It wasn't long before Hermione fell asleep.

"Hey, Mia, have you see..." Sirius walked into the room in his pajama bottoms and he stopped when he saw the three of them asleep. He smiled softly.

"Mia, do you know where my..." like Sirius, James walked into the room and stopped and smiled.

Sirius accioed his wizarding camera and took a picture of the three sleeping figures.

"Cissy will love this" he said as an explanation and James nodded. "Should we leave them?"

"Yeah, can't risk waking them, especially if Draco hasn't been sleeping" James spoke and he accioed a blanket and placed it over the three sleeping figures.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: A trip to Azkaban**

 **Sirius' Apartment - Monday 25th January 1982**

Hermione awoke when she felt something hit her in the face. She opened her eyes for her vision to be obscured. She lifted her hand and picked up the item that covered her face. It was Draco's hippogriff. She chuckled and slowly sat up trying not to jostle the two sleeping toddlers on either side of her.

She smiled down at them softly. She removed herself from the blanket and stood, covering the two sleeping boys and placing the hippogriff back in Draco's arms. She accioed the book she needed from her room and sat on the sofa.

She needed to find the spell that could track the use of the Imperius curse. It took her a few minutes to find it and she read the paragraph written. She went over the theory before closing the book as Remus entered the room.

"Morning, Mia" he greeted and sat down on the couch.

"Morning, Remus, I'll shower and then make breakfast, will you watch them for me?" he nodded and she stood and left the room.

"I hear you have boyfriends" she heard him say and she didn't need to look to know he had a smirk on his face. She popped her head back into the room, scowled at him, before sticking her tongue out and left the room and she heard him laugh.

After showering and dressing, she headed to the kitchen to make breakfast. When she finished placing the food on the table, Remus entered carrying two boys in his arms. She smiled at them.

"Good Morning, Harry" she greeted.

He beamed at her and held his arms out, she chuckled and took him from Remus.

"Mimi" he said and he placed a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

"Thank you" she said smiling and she kissed his cheek in return and he giggled. She looked over to a tired looking Draco and she chuckled. _'Exactly how I remember him. Not a morning person'_ she thought amused.

"Good Morning, Draco" he shyly looked at her and when she smiled at him he seemed to be put at ease and he smiled.

"Mi-mi-mia" he said and she smiled and he clapped when he got her name right.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

"Dada" he said and his smiled dropped. "Dada" he repeated and she could see tears beginning to form in his eyes, before they immediately fell down his cheeks and he started screaming.

Hermione immediately put Harry down in his seat and she took Draco from Remus, who sat with Harry.

She began pacing, humming and whispering in his ear and he slowly calmed down.

"I'm going to do what I can to help your dad, I promise" she told him. When he settled down she pulled back to look at his red face.

She wiped away his tears and smiled at him.

"No more crying, you're a big boy and you're strong. Now, before we get you dressed shall we have breakfast? Waffles?" he looked at her confused, obviously having no idea what waffles were. _'You poor little bugger'_ she thought sadly.

She sat down and placed him on her lap. She retrieved a waffle and put some maple syrup on it and then cut it up into small pieces. She handed him the fork. He looked at Harry who was wolfing down his breakfast and giggling. He clumsily put the food in his mouth and ate greedily. She chuckled and shook her head.

"Good morning, girlfriend" she looked up to see Sirius waltzing into the room with the biggest grin she had ever seen on his face. She looked at him amused and when he walked past her he placed a kiss to her forehead and sat down next to her.

Harry giggled and Hermione chuckled. Before she could speak James practically skipped into the room, the same expression as Sirius plastered across his face.

"Good morning, girlfriend" he said and he walked past Hermione, kissing her forehead and plopping down in the chair next to Harry. "Good morning, son" he said ruffling Harry's hair and he giggled. "Good morning, Draco" he grinned and the child grinned back with maple syrup trickling down his chin and they laughed at him.

After breakfast James changed and dressed both Harry and Draco whilst Hermione made a list of foods she had managed to get Draco to eat. Given some of them were muggle, she written down the recipes or where they could be bought. She would later give it to Narcissa and hope that Draco continued to eat until she was able to get to the bottom of Lucius Malfoy.

Hermione then placed a personal floo call to Minister Bagnold and asked if she could arrange a visitation with Lucius Malfoy. Despite the request being strange, the Minister didn't question her. Hermione had asked the Minister for help several times since her arrival. She didn't know what she was doing but she got the impression it was important, and she had read reports of Hermione being a part of the forces that tracked and captured many Death Eaters. She had also known about Sirius' innocence and Pettigrew's traitorous act. So as a result, if it was in her power to help Hermione, and no matter how strange the request, she would.

Hermione ended the floo call and told the others of her plans. It had been decided that Sirius would accompany her to Azkaban -she had protested at first but he had been adamant- and James and Remus would watch over Harry and Draco. When Hermione returned she would make lunch and after dinner, she and Sirius would return Draco to the manor.

So with the plan in place, they both left the apartment and apparated to the entrance at the gates.

* * *

 **Azkaban**

There was a large outhouse, with several guards sat about inside. When Hermione approached she gave her name and the letter the Minister had sent via owl to one of the guards. He raised an eyebrow but didn't speak. He handed her a piece of candy and it was a port key that would take her and Sirius to the visitation room.

When they landed they looked around. It was a small room with white walls and a white tile floor. The walls were bare and there were no windows, only one door. There was a metal table in the middle of the room with one chair on one side and two on another. She suspected they were nowhere near the actual prison and therefore there were no dementors nearby.

The door opened and Lucius Malfoy was brought into the room, his hands and feet were shackled and he was wearing a grey and black striped jumper and trousers. The clothing draped his form and was covered in dirt and holes. His pale blonde hair was matted and greasy. His skin tone was a sickly grey, his eyes glazed over and his face looked sunken. She could almost see the bones of his wrist and she could imagine what the rest of him looked like.

He was roughly pushed into the chair by the guard and Hermione glared at him as he retreated out of the room without a word and he slammed the door shut.

"Charming" she muttered and Sirius chuckled.

Lucius kept his eyes down cast and fixed on the table.

Hermione removed her coat and once more she was wearing a short sleeved t-shirt, wanting to gage his reaction. She sat down in the chair opposite him and Sirius took the chair next to her, putting his arm around the back of her chair.

"Lord Malfoy" Hermione said respectively.

He looked up at her.

"It's been a while since I was called that" he croaked out, his voice broken from screaming at night and dehydration.

"I suppose it has" she put her hand into her beaded bag. It had been checked before she was allowed access and she had brought several items for him.

She removed a bottle of water and a flask of soup and put them on the table before her. She then flicked her wand and cast a silencing charm around the room, followed by a warming charm over him and she did the same again, casting a warming charm around the room since it was freezing.

She then removed several potions and put them on the table. She pointed her wand at the chains and they unlocked and fell away from him. He rubbed at his wrists and looked at her carefully, noticing Sirius sat next to her.

"Black" he nodded.

"It's Lord Black now" he grumbled. Lucius raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"And you are?" he looked to Hermione.

"My name is Mia Granger, I'm a muggleborn" she rested her arms on the table and he looked down at her arms, he flinched when he saw the scar and Hermione watched him carefully.

"Who did that to you?"

"Bellatrix" he flinched again and closed his eyes. He could only guess what had happened as he had seen Bellatrix's work first hand.

"I'm sor..."

"Don't apologise, it wasn't your fault. Sirius and Narcissa have both unnecessarily apologised"

"You know my wife?"

She nodded. "We visited her yesterday. She isn't doing well, neither is your son" he flinched again.

"We took him last night so Cissy could get some rest. He's currently being watched by James and Remus and playing wizards and dragons with Harry" Sirius said casually.

"Apparently he hasn't stopped crying; neither your wife nor the house elves could settle him down. He doesn't eat so they have to give him nutrition potions and he doesn't sleep. But he's already improved. He slept for six hours yesterday before waking up, he played with Harry for an hour and then we ate dinner, and I made sure he ate. Afterwards we built a fort, baked cookies and read a book and he fell asleep. He didn't wake up until breakfast was ready. He had a cry but I calmed him down and he ate breakfast, he was playing with James, Remus and Harry when we left"

She pulled out a picture she had taken that morning of Draco eating his breakfast with syrup running down his chin and giggling. She pushed it across the table towards him and he picked it up and ran his fingers over it and gazed at the moving photo.

"He's gotten so big" he said quietly and they let him have a moment.

"Narcissa has informed us that you are innocent, you were forced into taking the mark and Imperioed during missions and revels. Is this true?" Hermione asked.

"Yes"

"Why didn't you impart this information at your trial?"

"They didn't give me chance to present my case and I feel I deserve it" he looked down at the table.

"No one deserves this treatment" she said softly. She then pushed the potions over to him and he looked at her suspiciously. "Nutrition potions, they will help improve your health, a pain potion for your sore muscles, bones and throat and a pepper up potion. I brewed them myself"

"You can't be more than twenty" he said.

"Nineteen" she confirmed.

"She brewed polyjuice when she was twelve, even Snape's impressed with her brewing" Sirius said and he looked down at her with a smile.

Lucius took the potions, immediately feeling better. His skin lost the sickly grey colour, although it wasn't back to completely healthy, his cheek bones no longer stuck out and when he spoke, his voice sounded clearer.

"Thank you" he said and she smiled and shrugged.

"Soup and water" she pushed over the items and he took them gratefully. She spoke as he ate. "Now, I am here because I wish to cast a few diagnostic spells on you, if you wouldn't mind"

"Spells?" he said warily.

"It won't hurt you. When an Imperius curse has been cast, the effects will remain present until a year later. I can cast the charm and record the results, I will give them to Minister Bagnold and she will determine the next course of action. If you are innocent you will be released, pardoned with an apology and you can return to your wife and son, if not, then you will stay here"

"It's not that simple" he muttered.

"Yes it is, so don't argue with me" she glared at him and Sirius chuckled.

"There's no point in arguing, she will win every time" he said fondly. "She turned Moody into a chicken... she actually transfigured him into a chicken" Sirius said proudly.

Lucius couldn't help the chuckle.

"So can I cast the spells?" he slowly nodded.

When Hermione pointed her wand at him, he stiffened. She waved her wand and muttered an incantation. She then waved her wand in a different pattern and muttered another incantation and then she sat back and dropped her wand arm.

"The results show that you have in fact been placed under several Imperios, if I had to guess I would say twenty-two separate Imperios for short periods of time, and several for longer. You are innocent"

She pointed her wand at him and muttered. "Scourgify" she then muttered "Reparo" followed by a hair charm she had learned to untangle her hair. His clothes were repaired and cleaned along with his hair de-knotting and then being held back from his face.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"That's a long story, one that your wife wishes to know as well. I will answer all questions once you have been released" she assured him.

She put her hand back into her beaded bag and pulled out a soft pillow and thick blanket. After casting the Impervius charm to protect it from water and dirt, she resized them and put them on the table.

"It could take a couple of days for the paperwork to go through, there is no reason why you shouldn't be as comfortable as possible until then. I've protected them against water and dirt and they have a permanent warming charm on them. You'll have to keep the photo of Draco out of sight, they may take it away otherwise" she told him.

She removed the silencing charm and as she did, she could hear footsteps heading their way. She quickly put the empty vials in her bag along with the flask and empty bottle of water. She flicked her wand and removed the warming charm on the room and she had the chains tie back around Lucius' ankles and wrists.

The door opened and the guard entered the room.

"Time's up" he said gruffly.

"We're done here anyway" Hermione said standing and putting her coat back on. "Lord Malfoy is aiding in the tracking of Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange" Hermione spoke casually. "Please make sure no harm comes to him" and with that said, the port key they had previously been given activated and took them back to the outhouse.

Once they finished signing out, they immediately apparated to the Ministry.

* * *

 **Ministry of Magic**

Hermione and Sirius went straight to the Minister's office and entered without so much as looking at the Junior Assistant.

"Miss Granger, you could always knock" Minister Bagnold said from behind her desk.

"Where's the fun in that? Then I have no way of catching you doing something scandalous" she said and the Minister chuckled at her.

"I assume you are here to explain why you wished to visit Lucius Malfoy in Azkaban"

"Yes" she and Sirius sat down in the chairs at the desk, opposite the Minister. "We visited Narcissa Malfoy yesterday; she isn't doing well, Draco even worse. The poor child isn't eating or sleeping. Anyway, she informed us that her husband was forced into becoming a Death Eater by his father before he died and they were mainly financial supporters. However, she claimed that during missions and revels, her husband was Imperioed. As a favour to her, Sirius and I visited Lord Malfoy this morning. After casting several charms, I have determined her to be telling the truth. Results show that Lord Malfoy has be under the Imperius Curse more than twenty-two times"

"You wouldn't be offended if I ask for an auror to check the results?" she said.

"I was expecting it" she shrugged.

A letter was written and sent through the floo to the Magical Law Enforcement Department. Not ten minutes later there was a knock at the door.

"Enter" the Minister said and Kingsley Shacklebot made his way into the office. The situation was explained and then he took Hermione's wand. He cast several spells to show the last spells cast and he looked over the results.

"Miss Granger is correct Minister Bagnold" Kingsley said. "Due to these results, it shows that Lucius Malfoy was indeed exposed to the Imperius Curse on more than twenty-two separate cases. If I might, I would like to examine him for any other effects, today if possible. It appears that Lord Malfoy is an innocent man"

"Very well, I'll have the guards informed of your arrival. At the very least he is guilty of financial support; the punishment is a hefty fine"

"And he served over three months in that horrific place; I think you can let him off with the fines" Hermione rolled her eyes.

They stayed with the Minister for two hours before Kingsley arrived back from Azkaban.

"I hate that place" he muttered and shivered. "I cast the same spells as Miss Granger and the results are conclusive. Lucius Malfoy was not a Death Eater by choice. He gave permission for Legilimency to be used. I searched through his memories and they support Miss Granger's theory. His wife was threatened, as was his son when he was born. He's innocent"

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment**

Hermione entered the apartment to see Remus, Harry, Draco and James sat at the table eating lunch, it seemed they hadn't bothered waiting for her to return and Remus just made lunch himself.

She and Sirius made their way to the table and sat down.

"Well? How did it go?" James asked. Hermione didn't answer, instead she just smirked and helped herself to some food and he huffed in annoyance and she laughed.

"How has he been?" she nodded to Draco.

"Not too bad, he had a cry for his dad, one for his mother and one for you" James said.

"What? Me?" she said shocked.

He nodded. "Yep, but he calmed pretty quickly when Harry waved a chocolate biscuit in his face" he chuckled.

"We're taking him back to the manor soon" Hermione said. "It's going to be hard to break the two of them up" she gestured to Draco and Harry who were currently having their own conversation and they laughed. "I still can't get over how those two are together, it's like he's his long lost brother or something" they laughed.

* * *

 **Malfoy Manor**

Hermione and Sirius were shown to Narcissa's lounge and Hermione was carrying Draco as he babbled happily to her with no sign of him stopping and Sirius laughed as Hermione made sounds and exclamations that proved she was listening to him.

Narcissa looked up and once more she looked shocked at her son's completely changed behaviour. As they entered she could hear her son talking away and Hermione was responding to him.

"What did you do to my son?" she asked suspiciously, but mirth was evident in her eyes.

Hermione looked at her and started laughing.

"We've had a lot of fun, haven't we Draco?" she said and he nodded enthusiastically and Narcissa chuckled in disbelief.

"When we got back yesterday he slept for another four hours and woke an hour before dinner. He played with Sirius..."

"Pad" Draco clapped.

"James"

"Pon" he clapped again.

"Remus"

"Mo" he clapped.

"and Harry"

"Ree" he clapped again and she and Sirius smiled proudly.

"Yes, well done Draco, you're going to be very clever when you get bigger" he giggled. "He played with them. He ate dinner..."

"He ate?" Narcissa said hopeful.

"He did, chicken nuggets and chips. He ate it all. After dinner, Sirius and James bathed the boys and put them in their pajamas. We baked cookies, built a fort and then read a story. They fell asleep in the fort around eight. I woke up and he and Harry both woke at seven thirty. He had a cry and I calmed him down and when he saw Harry eating breakfast he ate his as well"

She gestured to Sirius to remove the photos taken from that morning and the previous night from Draco's bag and he handed them to Narcissa.

She smiled widely at the photos. There was a photo of Draco playing with Harry, a photo of them covered in flour when they baked cookies, a photo of them building the fort, the photo of them sleeping, the photo of him eating his waffles and a photo of him and Harry tickling James as they sat on him.

"James got him and Harry dressed this morning and Sirius and I left for Azkaban, with Remus and James staying with the boys"

Narcissa looked up at her quickly and Hermione smiled softly.

"We spoke to him. I cleaned him up the best I could, and gave him some potions and food. I gave him a blanket and pillow and a photo of Draco. I cast several spells to determine the effects of the Imperius Curse and recorded the results. Afterwards we visited Minister Bagnold and a member of the White Lions, who is a senior auror, confirmed my results. He left for Azkaban and recast the spells and the results were conclusive. Your husband is innocent. The Ministry recognises that and he will be released from Azkaban tomorrow evening"

Narcissa stared and then she suddenly burst into tears, Malfoy etiquette be damned. She flung her arms around Hermione, effectively crushing Draco between them and she sobbed.

Hermione hugged her back the best she could in the awkward position and Sirius chuckled.

Narcissa pulled away before hugging Sirius just as tightly.

"Thank you so much, you have saved my family. How can I ever repay you?" she sniffled and pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped at her eyes.

"How about regular play dates with Harry and Draco?" Hermione said. "I don't think we'll be able to keep them separated for too long, you should've seen them together" Sirius laughed at her and Narcissa immediately agreed.

"And one more thing" Sirius interjected.

"What? Anything?" Narcissa said quickly.

"You have dinner with us at least once a week"

Narcissa's wide smile widened even further and she nodded immediately.

"When we returned Draco was eating his lunch, he and Harry drew some pictures, which are in his bag, and then we had dinner. He ate everything" Hermione explained and she handed Draco over to Narcissa.

"Draco, your father's coming home soon" she said and then she hugged him tightly.

"I've made a list of food he seemed to like as well as some suggestions. A lot of them are muggle so I have included recipes and where to buy the items"

"Thank you" she said sincerely.

"He seemed to really like my breakfast waffles, he ate four of them this morning, that's more than James" she said in disbelief. "Although, I think it was the sugar, he's got a sweet tooth, he ate three cookies last night as well" they chuckled. "We will be accompanying Lucius here; there is no need for you to leave the manor. And tomorrow, you will get your answers about who I am. I'll see you soon Cissy"

Hermione smiled at Draco and waved.

"Mi-mi-mia" he said and he held his arms out to her. She chuckled and took him from Narcissa.

"I'll be back tomorrow Draco and if you're good for your mum, Harry, Remus and James will be coming with me" he beamed at her and sloppily kissed her cheek. She laughed and handed him back to Narcissa.

She turned and then left the room.

"She's a miracle" Narcissa said to Sirius.

"You have no idea" he said smiling after her.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Answers**

 **Ministry: London - Tuesday 26th January 1982**

Hermione and Sirius made their way to the Minister's office. When they arrived it was to see Kingsley, Minister Bagnold and Lucius Malfoy waiting for them. Lucius looked a lot better. He had washed and showered, his pale blonde hair no longer limp and greasy, his pale skin looked healthier and he was wearing his usual tailored wizard robes. It seemed just getting away from Azkaban improved his health massively.

After making pleasantries they left the office and made their way to the entrance to the Ministry. As a result they had to walk through the busy atrium, and the entire room came to a standstill. But Hermione, Sirius, Lucius and the aurors that were escorting them out of the building and who were acting as a secret detail, continued walking.

Once they were outside of the building they apparated to Malfoy Manor.

* * *

 **Malfoy Manor**

They landed with pops of apparition outside the wards of the manor. Lucius immediately began walking forwards and Sirius and Hermione shared a knowing smile.

They followed behind him as he swept into the grand foyer, walking straight past the house elves that gathered around him and heading straight to Narcissa's parlour.

When he entered it was to see Narcissa sat on the couch with a cup of tea in hand and fondly watching Draco. He was sat on the floor surrounded by stuffed toys, with Harry, Remus and James, and he was giggling and babbling as they played what had quickly become their favourite game, wizards and dragons.

Narcissa looked up and almost dropped her tea cup in shock. She quickly placed it onto the saucer, stood up and briskly walked over to Lucius and she flung her arms around him and sobbed.

Hermione and Sirius moved over to the others to give them some privacy.

"Mimi" Harry greeted happily.

"Hello, Harry" she ruffled his hair and he giggled.

"Mi-mi-mia" Draco clapped.

"Hello, Draco" she ruffled his hair and he looked less than impressed and they laughed at him.

A few minutes later she noticed Narcissa and Lucius pull away from each other. Hermione scooped Draco up into her arms and made her way over to them.

"Dada" Draco squealed when he saw Lucius. Hermione handed him to Lucius and once more she went back over to the others.

She could hear Draco babbling happily and she and the others smiled and chuckled. She looked up when she heard her name.

"Mi-mi-mia" Draco was pointing at her, and babbling rapidly whilst grinning and they smiled.

"We owe you a great deal of debt" Narcissa said from her husband's side.

"No, you don't" she said softly. "Your husband was an innocent man, he didn't deserve to be in that place, I only did what was right" they smiled at her. "We'll leave you alone so you can catch up"

"No, you promised me answers" Narcissa said.

"Don't you want to spend some time with your husband and son? It can wait till later"

"No, I want answers now"

"I wish to have answers as well" Lucius piped up.

Draco was placed on the floor next to Harry and the others gathered on the couches.

"Before we begin, I believe what you asked for has been found" Narcissa spoke.

She called for a house elf and they appeared with an object in hand and it was wrapped in green silk. It was given to Hermione and she set it down on her lap and carefully pulled the silk away from the object. It revealed the diary.

"Yes, this is the diary we wished to find, how did you find it so quickly? And in two days no less?" she asked amazed.

"I spoke to the house elves; some of them were assigned here during Abraxas' youth, and had come across it more than once during cleaning. I believe they found it in his study"

"You didn't touch it did you?"

"No, as curious as I am about it, I took your warnings seriously. Don't say it" she glared at Sirius who grinned and they rolled their eyes at him.

"What significance does on old diary have?" Lucius asked confused.

"It belonged to Voldemort" Sirius said shrugging and Lucius flinched.

"Who are you really?" he asked Hermione.

"Can we trust him?" she asked Narcissa.

"Yes, he and I both are at your disposal. Our allegiance lies with the White Lions"

"Does someone want to tell me what I've missed? I thought you worked for Dumbledore" Lucius said looking at Sirius, James and Remus. They looked at each other and burst out laughing, which only seemed to annoy Lucius more.

When they finally calmed down Hermione spoke.

"What I say cannot be repeated, to anyone, ever" they nodded at her. "My name is Hermione Jean Granger and I was born September 19th 1979..." she continued to tell them about her life and what they had done since she arrived. She told them about the future where she came from and the sibling bond she shared with Harry. They told them about the Horcruxes, but in as little detail as possible, not even mentioning the name never mind the ritual, where to find them and how to destroy them. They told them about Dumbledore and the way they had treated Hermione and Harry. They told them about quitting The Order and starting their own organisation under Dumbledore's nose and how they had inside members watching Dumbledore.

After the discussion Narcissa and Lucius gawked at them shamelessly, forgetting about both the written and unwritten rules to being a Malfoy.

"Merlin" Narcissa breathed out and she sat back in shock.

"Told you it was complicated" Hermione shrugged.

"Are you sure you were a Gryffindor?" Narcissa asked.

They chuckled at her.

"Been wondering that ourselves" James grinned and she rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I was a Gryffindor"

"Will you ever return to where you came from?" Lucius asked.

"No, I cannot. The future that I came from no longer exists; there would be nothing for me to go back to, this is my home now. As soon as I was sent back here the future was changed. My mere presence alone save lives and Fabian and Gideon Prewett, they were originally suppose to die two months before I arrived. Lily Potter died in child birth but in my time she died on Halloween last year, along with James" she said. "It's not just lives that have been saved though"

"I don't understand" Narcissa frowned.

"Well some things are different. For example, in my time Harry was allergic to blueberries, now he is allergic to blueberries and strawberries. In my time James wore glasses and here he doesn't. In my time Lucius" he looked at her. "You were a heavy supporter of Voldemort and by choice" he looked outraged. "This diary, it is capable of drawing magic from someone, possessing them to do his bidding and when enough magic has been drawn, it is able to create a shadow of sorts of a sixteen year old Tom Riddle. You slipped this diary to Ginny Weasley when we bumped into you in Diagon Alley, before my second year. She almost died" both he and his wife looked disgusted. "But in this time frame, it looks as though your views are different. You're sitting having a conversation with a muggleborn who was tortured in the drawing room of this manor, a werewolf and two blood traitors" she chuckled. "In this time frame you are not evil, but an innocent man"

"I don't believe it" he whispered shaking his head in denial.

"You tried to kill me when I was sixteen and you went to Azkaban. Voldemort lived with you for over a year, you watched me being tortured by Bellatrix, you tried to kill me at the Final Battle. Trust me, you were a completely different person" she chuckled. "But that doesn't matter, that was literally a different life time. We are working to destroy Voldemort for good, long before he can hurt anyone else. I will not have a repeat of history"

"I am sorry you can't return home" Narcissa said sadly.

"Don't be. All the people that were in my life back there are here now. I actually have more people to care for than I did before. Not only do I have the Weasleys, I have Fabian and Gideon, Remus, Harry and James and Sirius"

James and Sirius were sat on either side of her and they each took one of her hands and smiled at her softly.

"I thought she was your girlfriend" Narcissa said to Sirius confused.

"She is, she is also James'" Sirius shrugged.

"A triad?" Lucius said intrigued.

"If everything works out well. We've only been dating a couple of weeks but everything seems to have worked out so far" James answered.

"I can see why" Narcissa observed.

"It's been a while since the last one" Lucius commented and the others agreed.

"About hundred and eight years I think" Remus injected.

"So this is how you know my son" Narcissa changed the subject.

"He used to bully me in Hogwarts, he was the first person to call me a mudblood" they flinched at the name. "It's okay though, I broke his nose my third year" she grinned and they laughed in shock. "I saw a different side to him my sixth year, he was under a lot of pressure from Voldemort, to kill Dumbledore"

"I still don't understand though"

"Understand what?"

"How you were able to calm him so quickly, it's almost as if your magic comforts him" she mused.

"Kind of like Harry" Sirius mused.

"Well Mia's magic is different. Didn't Molly say that your magic was somehow bound to the Burrow?" Remus asked.

"Yeah" she said quickly and they raised their eyebrows at her.

"How?" Sirius asked.

"In my other time, before we left on the hunt I placed a series of wards around the Burrow, strengthening the previous wards and adding extra security. For these wards to work I had to put some of my magic into the existing wards. When you cast a powerful and complicated spell, such as warding spells, you leave behind a magical trace. It doesn't matter that I cast the wards in 1997, the wards of the Burrow in 1982 will have recognised my magical signature when I was sent here. The wards would've activated even though they were placed in a different time frame"

"And you are bound to Harry by a sibling bond" James spoke, she nodded.

"It's the same reasoning, the wards and my bond. They were activated when I arrived here, plus, I was practically raised at the Burrow, my magical signature is all over the place"

"So if your magic comforts Draco, then you must be somehow bound to him, but how?" Sirius spoke out loud.

Hermione refused to answer the question.

"You must have done something in your other life for him to be comfortable around you, he was crying for you after only half a day of knowing you" Sirius said.

"He cried for you last night as well" Narcissa said looking at her appraisingly. Hermione tried to keep a passive but face but something must have shown because Sirius' eyes widened and then he started laughing.

"No way" he almost yelled and everyone looked between them shocked.

"What is it?" James asked confused. Sirius laughed louder and she scowled at him.

"She... she... she" he gave up and Hermione grumbled and then punched him in the arm. He whined but continued to laugh. "Which one was he?" he got out.

"One what?" Narcissa asked confused.

Remus soon understood the turn the conversation had taken and he burst out laughing.

"Slytherins" he said through his guffaws and she glared at him and refused to blush.

"I still don't get it" James said confused.

"She's slept with two guys" Remus said through laughter. James' eyes widened and then he looked at Hermione and burst out laughing.

"Would someone please explain what is happening?" Lucius drawled.

Hermione huffed. "They're making fun of my sex life" she growled and they immediately stopped laughing and looked at her fearfully. Narcissa hid a smirk behind her tea cup, but raised an eyebrow at the statement.

"I can't believe he's one of them" Remus shook his head. "I would have never guessed he was one"

"That's why I didn't tell you" she glowered.

"I need an explanation" Lucius said.

She sighed. "This is an awkward conversation" she muttered and he raised an eyebrow. "Draco and I had a bit of a..." she searched around for the right word. "Strange relationship"

"Strange how?" James smirked at her and she glared at him.

"We were both stressed during our sixth year, it was awful. Draco had the task from Voldemort to complete and not only was I stressed from lessons, the war and arguments with Ron, I was also feeling Harry's stress through the bond which in turn magnified my stress. Now, in return, Harry could also feel my stress and because I was stressed he felt even more stressed"

"Okay, with you so far" Sirius said.

"He was convinced Draco was a Death Eater, of course he was but we couldn't be sure at that point. I ran into Draco on the seventh floor after curfew, I questioned him on what he was doing, he looked like hell to be honest and not in the mood for a chat. As a result it turned into an argument, which turned into a duel, which turned into a snog in an abandoned classroom, you can imagine what happened next" she looked up to see five pair of eyes, all filled with the same emotions, shock and mirth.

Lucius' mouth turned up into a smirk.

"How long?" he asked amused.

"A couple of months"

"Define a couple"

"Five and a half" she squeaked out and he started laughing at her.

"You slept together for five and a half months?" James said shocked and she nodded.

"Yeah"

"How often?"

"NARCISSA" Hermione shrieked in shock and she laughed at her.

"What? We're all grown up here?"

"This is your son we are talking about? That son over there who is currently eighteen months old and eating his stuffed hippogriff"

"Point?"

"It's awkward. Why do you think I had Sirius and James bathe him instead of me doing it? I know what a sixteen year old Draco looks like naked"

They laughed at her shocked expression.

"How often?" she repeated.

Hermione sighed realising she wasn't going to get out of answering the question.

"I don't know. Sometimes it was a few times a week, other times it was once a week, sometimes it was once every couple of weeks. It was just when we needed to forget about the horrors of the outside world. When we needed a stress reliever. I'll admit, I hated him at first. But after a while he started to grow on me. We started meeting up just to talk and I realised he wasn't as bad as he made people believe. He had a fling with a muggleborn for starters. I did grow to love him, but it wasn't a romantic love. It was the same for him, he wasn't in love with me but I knew he cared. That's why my magic calms him, because of the bond we shared in my other life" they all looked at her amused. "Merlin, I'm never going to be able to look at him when he turns sixteen" she said into her hands that covered her face. They all laughed at her. "That reminds me; I wanted to ask about someone"

"Their name?" Narcissa asked.

"Theodore Nott" eyebrows were raised once more. "How is he doing? This time around his father is dead. He died during an attempt to capture him and put him into Azkaban"

"His mother is alive, but won't be for long. Thoros Nott was an evil man. He used dark curses on his wife to get her to act the way he wished, to have her obedience. As a result the dark magic is killing her and there is nothing that can be done. The healers say that she has approximately two months, if that. Some days are good days and others are bad. The house elves at Nott Manor care for the child"

"What will happen to Theo?" she asked softly.

"We knew before Lucius was sentenced that she was dying. We had originally planned to take Theo in and raise him as our own, until he became of age and he could take his place as the Head of the House of Nott"

"Before you arrived I spoke to the Minister about the situation, she's making arrangements and the Family Affairs Department will be contacting me within the next week" Lucius spoke.

"That's good; he'll have a better life without his father raising him"

"Why'd you ask about him?"

"No reason" she said quickly.

"Oh, Merlin" Remus said laughing. "It's him, he's the one you lost your virginity to"

Hermione sighed.

"Two Slytherins?" James and Sirius said shocked.

"Yes"

"But they're Slytherins"

"You sound like Ronald" she huffed. "Now have we finished discussing my sex life?" they looked like they were going to argue. "Let me rephrase that, we have finished discussing my sex life. Back to the point. No, I can never return to my other life, that was the sacrifice I had to make. But this way, I will save lives, Harry won't have to suffer and I can watch him grow, it will be weird not going to Hogwarts with him but I'll live. Now, the diary must be destroyed, where can we do it?" she asked Sirius.

"You can use the old stables on the grounds" Lucius offered.

Hermione thanked him. Lucius being a Malfoy, he was able to apparate within the grounds so he took Sirius and Hermione to the stables. Ten minutes later and the dairy was destroyed, with it being the first one made, it was weaker than the rest and therefore didn't take as long. Lucius was horrified by what he had witnessed and Hermione collapsed and Sirius caught her.

Lucius apparated them back to the others and as usual Harry was screaming his lungs off. Narcissa and Lucius watched mesmerised as Harry touched her and they began glowing before he fell asleep.

"Are they alright?" Narcissa asked worriedly.

"Yes, they're just sleeping. Mia will wake in a few days and Harry will wake by tonight. It's nothing to worry out" James assured them, with the sleeping Harry in his arms.

"We better get them home" Sirius said. "Remember, regular play dates and dinner once a week"

Narcissa nodded and smiled. "Thank you"

"It was all her, the little miracle that she is" Sirius said looking down at Hermione fondly. Narcissa had them keyed into the floo, so they could floo home rather than apparating.

* * *

 **Unknown Location**

Later that evening a meeting had been called at The Order of the Phoenix's headquarters.

"What is the meaning of this?" Dumbledore almost yelled and he threw the copy of the Evening Daily Prophet on the table.

Fabian and Gideon rolled their eyes. Dumbledore was gesturing to the article published about the release of Lucius Malfoy, but most importantly, the photograph that took up a third of the page. It was a photo of Lucius, Hermione and Sirius leaving the Ministry together.

"It is a newspaper, they are generally used to inform the public about the daily goings on in the world, Albus" Snape drawled and the twins bit back a laugh. Dumbledore sent a glare his way, but Snape remained unaffected by it. "You should've been more specific"

"I meant, why is Sirius and Miss Granger escorting him out of the Ministry? What are they planning? How are they responsible for his release? Why did they release a known criminal?"

"Because he's innocent" Kingsley spoke up. All eyes cut to him.

"What?" both Moody and Dumbledore spoke.

"He's innocent. I was called to the Minister's office yesterday morning"

"Why wasn't I informed of this?" Moody barked.

"You were out of the office and the Minister has a higher authority than you do. She asked me not to tell anyone. There was an anonymous tip that swore Lucius Malfoy was innocent. The Law Enforcement Department has to investigate whether this was true or not. I was sent to Azkaban to visit with him. We had a chat, I used Legilimency and I cast several detection spells and the results came back positive. Lucius Malfoy was not a Death Eater by choice, he was forced into it and he was Imperioed. I gave the results to the Minister and she organised the paperwork to have him pardoned and released" Kingsley shrugged.

"Why did you give the results to the Minister?" Dumbledore asked, looking livid.

"It's my job, I may be a part of The Order, but my job must come first. I will not turn my back on those that I swore to protect. The innocent. And Lucius Malfoy is most certainly innocent" Kingsley defended calmly, but on the inside he was furious.

 _'Dumbledore really wouldn't let an innocent man rot in Azkaban because it suited him would he? Of course he would, he's the one that put him there and it makes him look bad'_ he thought.

"What have they got to do with this?" he pointed to the picture of Hermione and Sirius.

"Nothing as far as I'm aware of, to me it just looks like they are walking out of the Ministry"

"Then why were they there?"

"We can answer that" the twins spoke; it was time for their part of the plan.

"Moody has the junior aurors tracking their movements, but they keep losing them. They're either rubbish at their job or Mia's very good at being evasive" Gideon spoke.

"And I would say the latter" Fabian said. "You're forgetting she was on the run for almost a year, running from Death Eaters, trackers and corrupt aurors before she was finally caught. And it is likely that she knows plenty of anti-tracking spells to shake us off her trail"

"Sirius was also an auror before Mia arrived and he has knowledge of the inner workings of what we do. We tried to track her ourselves the other night. We followed her to Muggle London, then to Diagon Alley, then to Hogsmeade and then we lost her" Gideon spoke.

"It was difficult to trace her after that, took us two hours to find that she had returned to Wizarding London before she went home"

"What were they doing at the Ministry then?"

"They were in the archives; we're not sure what she was looking for though"

"I want answers" Dumbledore said.

"Well, we can't exactly drag her into the Ministry without a reason can we? She's an innocent civilian" Kingsley spoke.

"Forge papers, make her a wanted witch"

"Can't, the Minister looks at all our records and she will know that something isn't right"

"Very well then, that leaves me no other choice, it must be done outside of the legal system. I want answers and I want them quickly" Kingsley and the twins shared a worried look. "I want her address, watch her, learn her routine and then let me know"

Unknown to Dumbledore, McGonagall was not happy with the man he had become, with the way he was acting and she would be keeping a very close eye on him.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Valentine's**

* * *

AN: Guest – Yes, I plan to have both McGonagall and Snape joining the White Lions.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **The Burrow - Sunday 31st January 1982**

The Marauders had flooed over to the Burrow. They hadn't had any contact with any member of the Weasley clan since the day they had quit The Order, at risk of being caught by Dumbledore. But they were good at avoiding his followers now, and it helped to have people on the inside to aid in covering their tracks.

It was Sunday and that day meant eating Molly Weasley's wonderful food, playing games in the living room and getting soaked in the slowly melting snow.

When they stepped out of the floo, Molly rounded on Hermione before she even had the chance to breathe.

"I don't believe a word he said" she assured Hermione as she hugged her tightly, knocking the breath out of her. "You would never betray them, you would never betray us. I know that, I can't believe he said that about you, about all of you"

"Can't breathe" Hermione gasped out.

"Oh, sorry dear" she said quickly pulling away and they others laughed at her.

"Thank you, Molly" she said smiling.

They greeted the rest of the Weasley clan, giving Bill his usual kiss to the cheek, Charlie another book on dragons, the twins a promise of fireworks later, talking to Percy about his books and Eugene the rat, having a staring competition with Ron and Harry and fussing over baby Ginny.

But today wasn't any ordinary family dinner; today would be a meeting for the White Lions. They had convinced the Malfoys to attend and they would soon be arriving, along with Kingsley, but Fabian and Gideon had to work – Moody's orders.

The kitchen table was enlarged and more seats were conjured. The table was set and they sat in the living room awaiting for the rest of their guests. Kingsley flooed into the Burrow and greeted everyone and Hermione left the Burrow to meet the Malfoy's at the wards.

Draco practically leapt from his father's arms and into hers and they laughed at him.

"Hello, Draco" she said.

"Mi-mi-mia" he greeted with a grin and they chuckled.

"Soon, you'll be able to say my name without struggle" she commented and they slowly walked towards the Burrow, there was a slight problem with Lucius not being able to get through, but Hermione quickly altered the wards.

"Sorry about that, I forgot"

"Why wouldn't the wards let me through?" he asked curiously.

"It was the wards I set up in my other time line, they didn't allow anyone with the dark mark through" she shrugged and she saw him flinch.

"Are you certain we are welcome here?" Narcissa asked.

"Yes, the others haven't yet been told why Lucius was released, but they know that I have something to do with it. They trust my judgement, they may be a little awkward until I explain everything and then it will be peachy. Kingsley has already arrived..."

"Shacklebot? He's one of yours?" Lucius interrupted.

"Yeah, it's why he didn't even bother arguing when we told him you were innocent, he's one of the members we have that is keeping an eye on Dumbledore" she shrugged. "Back to before, our other ten members are not able to make it, due to Moody having them on a tight leash, but they've been doing well in covering our tracks"

"How many aurors do you have working for you?" Lucius asked intrigued.

"Okay, let's get something straight, they do not work for me, they work with me. Everything they do is their own choice and I will never make anyone do anything they don't want to, especially if I wouldn't do it myself. I am not a dictator. Everyone has their separate missions, but we work together. Got it?"

Their lips quirked and they nodded.

"As for aurors, we have Kingsley, Fabian and Gideon Prewett and eight junior aurors, and if you count Sirius since he used to be one before all that chaos on Halloween, that brings us up to twelve. It's nowhere near as many as Dumbledore, but that's because he's got Moody in his back pocket" she shrugged. They reached the Burrow.

"How quaint" Lucius drawled, looking at the leaning building with many windows and smoke pouring out of the chimney.

"Shut up" Hermione said and Narcissa laughed lightly at the look on Lucius' face when Hermione spoke.

She entered the house and headed straight for the living room with them following behind her. Kingsley greeted the Malfoys, Molly and Arthur being polite, but a little more reserved. Hermione placed Draco on the ground next to Harry and Ron, and Harry immediately began babbling with Draco and they laughed at the sight. Ron was a little more suspicious of the blonde toddler and watched him with wary eyes.

"Some things never change" she muttered, rolling her eyes.

After five minutes everyone took their seats at the kitchen table and the food was passed around. As the children were eating and talking -or babbling- amongst themselves, the adults all turned to Hermione.

"So, care to explain?" Molly raised an eyebrow.

Hermione shrugged. "Lucius is innocent. He was forced into taking the mark and then Imperioed for missions and revels. That's it. I didn't put his name on the list of Death Eaters that I knew about because Dumbledore had already seen to it before I even woke from my coma. Both him and Narcissa have agreed to join the White Lions" Lucius scoffed at the name and Hermione threw a bread roll at him. The children burst out laughing, the adults chuckled and he scowled at her and she smiled sweetly.

"It's a lot better than Death Eaters" she argued and he conceded, seeing her point.

"So you're innocent?" Arthur said carefully, Lucius nodded. "Good enough for me" he shrugged and continued eating and Lucius stared in shock and Hermione smirked.

"What are your views on blood purity?" Molly asked Narcissa and Lucius, eyeing them carefully.

"I had a muggleborn best friend in school" Narcissa said and Molly looked at her in shock. "Sadly she died a year after graduating. My parents were a great supporter of You Know Who, and as a result they pushed their views onto myself and my sisters. However, I did not agree with them. I have my own mind and I my own voice. But for safety I never expressed my views, otherwise I would've suffered the same fate as my sister, Andromeda"

"I'll admit, before I married Narcissa I believed in blood purity. We argued constantly over our beliefs, but somehow she made me see the error in my way of thinking. She showed me a different way of life, a different world" he rested his hand over his wife's gently.

"So if Draco were to not marry a pureblood?" Molly pushed.

"As long as they treat my son with respect, they don't hurt him or take advantage, then I will be happy. Pureblood, half-blood or muggleborn"

"But not a muggle?"

"I haven't gotten that far in my beliefs yet" he said and they chuckled at him.

"He can be trusted?" Molly asked Hermione.

She nodded and smiled softly. "Besides, you've seen my memories, you know what I'm capable of if someone crosses me" everyone but the two adult Malfoy's laughed at her loudly and they looked confused.

"What? What is everyone laughing at?" Narcissa asked confused.

Hermione smiled innocently and it sent them into guffaws once more.

"You're right about your assessment on her house affiliations, Cissy" Sirius said coming down from his laughter. "Trust me when I say, you do not want to cross Mia" he put his arm around Hermione and kissed her cheek. "She's ruthless and doesn't take prisoners. She scares me" he admitted proudly, causing chuckles.

"Now that everyone can be trusted, back to business" Hermione spoke up.

"Right, Dumbledore called a meeting the night of Lucius' release" Kingsley said. "He wasn't happy. I think we managed to convince him that you had nothing to do with his release; we just told him it was an anonymous tip. Moody wasn't happy that information like that hadn't gone through him, but I pointed out the Minister had more authority over my actions than he did. Again he wasn't impressed" they chuckled at him. "The twins informed Dumbledore that it is difficult to track you, but they tracked you to the Ministry that day. The seed was planted" he smirked and she smiled proudly.

"Seed? What seed? Why would you plant a flower in the Ministry?" James asked confused.

Hermione and Kingsley started laughing.

"He means he's set the plan in motion"

"What plan?" Remus asked curiously.

"The plan to get Dumbledore off our backs for a little while"

"How do you plan to do that?" Sirius asked intrigued.

"During the meeting, Fabian and Gideon informed Dumbledore and Moody that the reason you were at the Ministry was because you were going through the archives. Dumbledore wants to know what you're up to. So Moody's got Fabian and Gideon searching through the archives for what you were looking for. In the process they will plant a file that they will sneak out and give to Moody and Dumbledore at the next meeting in a week's time"

"What's this file then?" Sirius asked.

Hermione smirked. "It's a list of international port key records from the years 1942-1946. In there he will find the name Tom Marvolo Riddle four times. One to a town in Albania, one to a city in Portugal, one to a forest in Germany and one to a village in Denmark. There are three precautions left to destroy, but four destinations"

"He will think that they are in these places, giving him something to focus on" James said with a wide smile. "And he doesn't know that you've destroyed the diary, so he will be looking for something that no longer exists" Hermione and Kingsley nodded with a smirk.

"Yes, he will have Order members searching for three of the precautions because he knows what they are. However, the final three precautions are all in England, two of them in London. We've essentially given him a treasure map that leads to an empty treasure chest"

"That's genius" Arthur muttered.

"Once again, are you sure you're not a Slytherin?" Narcissa asked and they laughed.

"Positive, anyway, our next move will be the locket which is in Grimmauld"

Narcissa grimaced. "You'll never be allowed to set foot in there, either of you" she looked at Sirius and Hermione.

"Actually, we don't need her permission. Do we Lord Black?" Hermione said smugly and he grumbled.

"You called him that when you visited me" Lucius said with a frown. "But you were disowned"

"Doesn't matter. When Sirius was disowned, Regulus became the heir to the House of Black. But Regulus died, leaving no heir. In the eyes of the law and Gringotts, Sirius was automatically reinstated and is now the Head of the House of Black. He is Lord Black. And with his title, he owns all properties and wealth. Walburga cannot stop Sirius from entering Grimmauld, she has no say in anything pertaining to the Black House now" Hermione shrugged. Those who weren't Marauders stared at her in awe.

"We simply walk in, order Kreacher to give us the locket and then walk out. They only thing is I may have to adjust the wards to allow me access. Before Grimmauld became headquarters, Dumbledore and Bill had to remove the cursed wards that stopped anyone less than a pureblood from accessing the house"

"But I remember you saying that in my will I left Grimmauld to both you and Harry" Sirius said with a thoughtful look on his face and Hermione nodded.

"You did"

"And you once lived there, it was your home, it belonged to you. Your magical signature should be all over the place, it should be in the wards like it is here..."

"So I should be given access automatically" she said in realisation. She looked at Sirius with a wide smile. "You are a genius"

"It's about time someone recognised me for my talents" he said smugly and everyone burst out laughing and he scowled.

"So when should we do this?" Hermione asked. "It's only been a few days since I destroyed the diary, it's too soon at the moment. But it should be safe in about a week"

"We'll do it in two weeks then, as a precaution" James spoke.

"You've been spending too much time around me" Hermione grinned.

"I know" he sighed and they laughed.

"Mia" she looked down the table to see the twins looking at her. "Now?" they asked.

She chuckled and shook her head. "Not yet boys, after dinner"

"Okay" they huffed.

"Now what?" Narcissa asked intrigued.

"You'll see" Hermione said.

After dinner they put on their cloaks and coats and headed out onto the grounds.

"Come on then" Hermione said and Fred and George ran forward and stood next to her, excitedly bouncing on the balls of their feet.

She picked up Fred first and he knew what the usual routine was. Together they gripped her wand and pointed it into the air, Hermione said the incantation and a beam of light shot into the sky. Bursting into colours and sparks, before joining together to make a large dragon in the air, it roared and breathed fire before disappearing.

She heard Kingsley, Narcissa and Lucius gasp and she turned to look at them with a smirk. They stared at her in awe. She did the spell once more with Fred, the different colours and sparks merging together to this time create an owl. She swapped Fred for George. The colours and sparks turned into the Giant Squid.

"Now that Bill, you will see at Hogwarts when you start in September" Hermione said and he grinned at her. "I'm going to tell you a secret, he likes to play fetch with sticks" she said and he laughed at her.

They cast the spell once more, this time it turned into a majestic white lion that roared loudly. The adult burst out laughing at her smug expression.

"Definitely prefer the White Lions" Sirius said and they laughed.

"That's not fair, everyone here was a Gryffindor" Kingsley pointed out.

"Not my fault you're out numbered. One Ravenclaw, three Slytherins and fourteen Gryffindors" he scowled at her and they laughed at her smug expression.

* * *

 **Unknown Location - Friday 5th February 1982**

"What did you find?" Dumbledore asked the twins.

Fabian removed a file from underneath his robes.

"It better be worth it" he said. "It was a nightmare to sneak it out, but her magical signature was all over it. We've looked it over and we can't understand why she wanted the information inside of it"

"Yeah, it's just a record of every international port key issued between 1942 and 1946" Gideon explained.

Dumbledore frowned and the file was passed over to him. He quickly flicked through the file. There weren't a lot of international port keys issued in those four years it seemed. No more than four hundred. But immediately he noticed the same name pop up four times.

Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Dumbledore smiled victoriously and he missed the smug looks on the faces of three of his trusted members.

"It seems that we have a new destination to search. Keep following them, I still think she's up to something and I want answers"

* * *

 **Sirius Apartment - Sunday 14th February 1982**

Valentine's Day. It was Valentine's Day. Hermione hated Valentine's Day. When James and Sirius found out that their girlfriend hated the most romantic day of the year they decided to change her mind.

Remus was out on a date, much to the amusement of Sirius and James, Harry was at Malfoy Manor, Narcissa and Lucius were watching over him, along with Draco and Theodore Nott, who they now had custody over, and he had fit in immediately with Harry and the Weasleys, much to everyone's amusement and Hermione's shock. So that gave Hermione, James and Sirius the apartment to themselves.

Because of Hermione's loathing for Valentine's Day, they were staying in for the night. They had been dating for a month now and everything was going well, Hermione would say perfect even, but she didn't want to jinx it.

So, James and Sirius attempted to cook dinner for Hermione, which ended up in smoke pouring out of the oven, Sirius burning himself with a pan of boiling water, a spoon being melted -and she didn't even want to know how that happened- and James knocking most of the food off the counter top when his jumper caught fire. In the end they ordered food from the Leak Cauldron.

They were now sat underneath the fort that had yet to be dismantled. Each of them had two butter beers in front of them and a couple shot glasses filled with fire whiskey.

"Mia?" James asked.

"Hmm?"

"Why don't you like Valentine's Day?" he asked.

"I'm not bitter, if that's what you're thinking. I just don't see the point in it. You have three hundred and sixty four days to show someone that you love them. But to me to Valentine's Day seems like a day that forces people to date, to tell someone they love them, to propose. Why is one day so special? Why can't someone say I love you on September 28th? Why can't someone propose on April 15th? It makes no difference when you do it; it's the sentiment and thought that counts. It's the words, the actions and the feelings, not the date. That's why I hate Valentine's Day. To me it's just a regular day of the year, there's no point in making any fuss about it" she shrugged and they looked at her thoughtfully, they could see she had a point, a brilliant one in fact.

"Besides, after seeing Lockhart's decorations in the great hall my second year, I hate the colour pink as well, not to mention love heats and the smell of roses" they laughed at her as she pulled a disgusted face.

"Let's play a game, truth or dare" Sirius said.

"Here we go" she muttered and James chuckled at her.

"I'll go first, Mia, truth or dare?"

She was screwed either way. "Truth"

"Are you absolutely certain you're a Gryffindor?"

She looked at him before she burst out laughing.

"Yes, I'm certain. Still got my old school uniform and scarf to prove it"

"Really?" both of them said surprised and they stared at her hungrily. She cleared her throat.

"James, truth or dare?"

"Truth"

"It is true that when you where fifteen, you were caught kissing a pillow?" she asked with a smirk.

"I'm going to kill Moony" James seethed and she and Sirius laughed loudly at him.

"I'll take that as yes" she said smugly.

"Padfoot, truth or dare?" James asked, determined to get the attention away from him.

"Truth"

"Was it you who stole Narcissa's underwear and tied them to the keeper's post on the quidditch pitch?"

"Yeah" he said laughing. Hermione stared at him before she burst out laughing.

"I'm putting up more wards around my room" she said through laughter.

"No need to be like that, I would never do that to you"

"You wouldn't?" she said disbelievingly.

"No, you scare the shit out of me" they laughed at him. "Mia, truth or dare?"

"Dare"

"I dare you to drink these" he moved his four shot glasses of fire whisky in front of her, joining her own four shots, before putting James' in front of her as well.

"Twelve shots of fire whisky? Are you trying to kill me?" he laughed at her.

"I would never, once again, because you scare the shit out of me"

She sighed and started drinking the fire whisky, taking a few seconds at the half way point to get her bearings.

"Done"

"Impressive, I wasn't sure you could do it" he said proudly and she rolled her eyes.

"Sirius, truth or dare?"

"Dare" he responded. James saw the smile that crept up onto her lips and he knew that things were about to get interesting.

"I dare you, to go to your bedroom, strip down to your underwear, take a picture and then send it to Moody, along with a detailed letter about how much you fantasize about him" she smiled sweetly.

Sirius went rigid and pale, his face contorted in disgust and she actually thought he was going to throw up. James stared before laughing, falling backwards against the floor and he held his stomach as tears fell from his eyes.

"You are an evil woman" Sirius muttered.

"She's a true Marauder" James said through laughter.

"You don't have to do it of course" she said sweetly. He scowled at her and stood up and stalked to his room.

"I knew his Gryffindor pride wouldn't allow him to back down" she said smugly and James continued to laugh at her, soon she joined in the laughter and she had tears rolling down her face.

Slowly they gained composer and James wiped at his eyes, before doing the same for Hermione. They sat side by side and he put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him and she rested her head against her shoulder.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her.

"About?"

"About this? Us?"

"It's surprisingly easier than I thought it would be. I had no problem with the relationship being of a triad nature, my problem was the way I perceived you and Sirius, or at least the way I perceived you before I was sent here. That's what was messing with my head and making everything complicated. After our first date I felt myself being more comfortable with the situation. The second, once again, I felt myself growing more comfortable. And then the third date, everything didn't seem so wrong anymore. I felt relaxed, content even. And then we got the first kiss out of the way and I couldn't find any faults with our relationship. Not you being the father of the child I have a sibling bond with and not Sirius being like an uncle to me. I realised that you two have experienced different things compared to the others in my previous time line, which makes you different people. We have a different relationship than we did in my other time line" he was smiling at her speech.

"For some reason, I don't feel as stressed about this war. My magic doesn't feel tense like it used to when I first got here. I can think clearly and everything is going to plan. That's thanks to you and Sirius. You distract me, but in a good way. You draw me away from all the dark magic and give me something else to focus on. You look after me after I destroy a Horcrux. You make me laugh when I feel like pulling my hair out" she said smiling softly.

"It's the least we can do, especially since you have the weight of the future world on your shoulders" he responded and he kissed her forehead. "How are your nightmares?"

"They're getting better, I've noticed that when Harry is sleeping next to me, I don't have nightmares. But they are getting better, they're not as vivid any more, but they still wake me" she shrugged. "That's a consequence of war" she then looked up at him. "Thank you"

"For what?" he asked confused.

"For being you" she said softly.

He smiled at her and lowered his head to press a kiss against her mouth. Before he could pull away though, Hermione shifted and wrapped her arms around his neck to keep him against her. His arms slipped down to her waist and she parted her lips, giving him entrance. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and their tongues twined and danced.

One of her hands slipped into his hair and the other slid down to grip at the front of his shirt. She fell backwards, pulling him down with her and she shifted so that he was hovering over her.

Her hands trailed across the expanse of his shoulders, despite the material in the way she could still feel his muscles twitch under her touch. She didn't understand how he had a well defined and muscled physique. Yes, it was from years of playing quidditch, but James had graduated Hogwarts three years ago, he hadn't played quidditch since, and he ate more than Remus and Sirius combined, it annoyed her and whenever she broached the subject with him, he would laugh at her.

His hands moved to trailing over her sides and his hands brushed the sides of her clothing covered breasts. She shifted under him and he stilled thinking he had crossed the line, but instead she wrapped her legs around him and rolled them, so she was straddling him.

She peered down at him with a smirk and he chuckled at her. His chuckles immediately stopped when she leaned down and started placing soft kisses and nipping at the skin of his neck. He gripped her waist tightly.

She heard footsteps but paid no attention to them.

"So that's why you wanted me out of the way" she pulled away from James and sat up looking up at Sirius, who was smirking at her.

Hermione shrugged denying nothing and admitting nothing. He chuckled at her whilst James scowled, sitting up on his elbows with Hermione still on top of him.

"You have awful timing" he said and Sirius laughed at him and made his way over to them, plopping down next to them.

"So, I did that horrific dare. Took some pictures worthy of Witch Weekly, wrote a letter that could have been an extract from an erotic novel and sent them off with a traumatised Benny" he shivered. "That was truly diabolical"

"Why would Benny be traumatised?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He was perched on my windowsill when I took the photos" he said and she burst out laughing along with James.

"Poor Benny" she muttered and shook her head.

"So, do I get a reward?" he asked.

"Reward? Like what?" he raised an eyebrow and she chuckled.

She climbed off James and kneeled in front of Sirius. She put her arms around his shoulders and with her being taller than he was, she leaned down and pressed her mouth to his.

She nipped at his lip and when he groaned in surprise, she slipped her tongue into his mouth, fighting for dominance with him. He tugged her forward and she fell into his lap, but they didn't break the kiss.

She could hear James chuckling at the two of them. Sirius' hands trailed over her sides and hers over his clothing covered shoulders. She had to admit, she had a thing for strong shoulders. Like James, she could feel Sirius' muscles twitch under her touch and it made her smile. Both James and Sirius had defined and muscled physiques, but James was slightly taller than Sirius, and Sirius had broader shoulders.

His hands brazenly slipped under her t-shirt and trailed over her sides and the small of her back. She shivered and goose bumps appeared on her skin. She felt Sirius smirk against her mouth and she wasn't having that.

She pulled away from him to nip at his neck and jaw, before moving to the shell of his ear, which she swiped with her tongue and blew on it and she heard his breathing pick up and she smirked as she tugged at his ear lobe with her teeth and his grip tightened on her.

"You know if we don't stop now, it'll turn into sex" she whispered into his ear and she heard his breath hitch.

"I don't mind" he breathed out huskily.

"Neither do I" she whispered and he groaned and pulled her closer. She smirked again. "But, it's Valentine's Day, it would be cheesy for us to have our first time tonight" she said and then she pulled away from him and plopped down next to James, who was laughing hysterically at Sirius' stunned expression and she smirked.

"Do you honestly still have that uniform, tie and all?" Sirius spoke, staring at her heatedly.

"I think so"

He groaned again and James continued laughing.

"So, do you still hate Valentine's Day?" James asked, changing the subject.

"Yes" she spoke without hesitation. "But this has been the best Valentine's Day I've ever had" he smiled at that and nodded smugly.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Mummy Dearest**

* * *

AN: SereniteRose - I think I will have Moody come to his senses eventually and join the White Lions; I'm just thinking of a fun way to do it.

Andree 07 – I have some Theo and Hermione interaction coming in future chapters.

* * *

 **Sirius Apartment - Friday 5th March 1982**

It had been a month since the meeting at the Burrow and the discussion of destroying the locket. They had planned to retrieve it from Grimmauld two weeks ago, but their plans had to be put on hold, with the twins and Kingsley informing Hermione of Dumbledore's new found paranoia and increased tracking of her movements. They had to be cautious and they couldn't risk being followed.

Instead Hermione had taken to reading up more on the Unforgivable Curses, after effects and the theory behind it. She still hadn't figured out how Harry had survived without Lily sacrificing herself and it was frustrating her. For two weeks she had looked at the same books, the same words, the same diagrams and she couldn't take it anymore.

She slammed her book shut and stood up. In the last two weeks she had only left the apartment twice and that was for food shopping. They couldn't floo anywhere now because Hermione detected tracing spells on their floo network, they couldn't apparate because their magical signatures could be traced and they couldn't leave the apartment because they were being followed. The aurors that had previously been assigned to tracking their movements had been removed and now they had others following them, others that weren't on their side.

But taking all of that into account, she had to get out of the apartment. It was driving her insane. She left her bedroom, grabbing a set of robes on the way out and putting them on over her clothes. She made sure she had her beaded bag and her wand was in her back pocket.

"Where are you going?" James asked with a raised eyebrow, the others turned to her.

"To get another Horcrux and destroy it. I can't stand this any longer, this is what he wants. I'm not afraid of Dumbledore and him confining me here is a victory for him, he is not beating me" she said with a scowl.

"It's not safe" Remus pointed out.

"Don't care, we're two weeks behind schedule and it's driving me insane being stuck here" she glowered and they chuckled at her.

"They'll follow us" Sirius pointed out, standing up and walking over to her.

"Then we give them something to follow" she said simply and he smirked.

"How?"

"I've found a new anti-tracking spell, it delays our movements by about three hours, and if we apparate to several different locations, our magical trace will get jumbled and it will take a while for them to unscramble it. But they will realise what we've done and tell Dumbledore" she shrugged. "I don't care though, I'm bored and I feel boxed in. You should never corner a wild animal"

"Let's go then" Sirius said chuckling. He grabbed his leather jacket, made sure he had his wand and then they left the apartment after saying their goodbyes and apparated in Diagon Alley, then to Hogsmeade, then to Godric's Hollow, back to Hogsmeade and then finally back to London.

* * *

 **12 Grimmauld Place**

They made their way towards the house that had magically appeared in-between houses numbered eleven and thirteen. Sirius withdrew his wand and waved it in a series of complicated gestures before tapping it to the door and it clicked open.

He rolled his eyes. "She hasn't even bothered to change the pass code" she chuckled at him and he entered the house before her.

Slowly stepped forward with her fingers crossed and her eyes shut tightly. She opened her eyes when she was inside the house and Sirius laughed at her.

"You should've seen your face" he said through laughter.

"Well I didn't know if I was going to die or not for stepping into your humble abode" she argued and he chuckled.

"Hideous as ever" he commented looking around with a grimace.

"A lot cleaner though" she commented noticing there was not a speck of dust anywhere. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Before you couldn't walk in here without getting a face full of cobwebs" he chuckled when she shivered. "I hate spiders" she muttered.

"You're afraid of spiders?" he said surprised.

"No, I just don't like them. If I see one I won't run away screaming, but I wouldn't exactly be happy either" he shook his head amused. "It's weird not hearing that awful painting screeching" she said and then she shrugged. "Right, let's get this over with"

They wandered into the living room without incidence, obviously Walburga wasn't in. "So what do I do?" he asked her as she grimaced at the decor.

"You call for Kreacher" she shrugged.

"He'll ignore me"

"He can't, you're Lord Black now"

"Alright" he said sceptically. He cleared his throat. "Kreacher" he called.

Almost instantly, the house elf popped into the room. Hermione looked him over, he hadn't changed a bit. He still had his overly pointy nose, his wrinkles and the permanent scowl he always had on his face. When she saw Dobby, he looked younger, but with Kreacher there was no difference at all.

"Master" he sneered as he bowed. "Filthy half-blood" he sneered at Hermione when he stood up straight. Hermione stared at him surprised and Sirius stepped forward, but Hermione placed a hand on his arm and he stopped and looked at her.

"Why did you call me that?" Hermione asked the sneering house elf. "I'm a muggleborn"

"Kreacher knows a mudblood when he sees one, you are a filthy half-blood" he spat and she looked at Sirius bemused, who was looking at her with the same expression. They shared a look and agreed to talk about it later.

"Kreacher, there is a locket that we need, Regulus gave it to you, you know which one I mean" Sirius said. Kreacher's eyes widened and stared at Sirius in shock, horror.

"That is Master Regulus''" he snapped.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Regulus is dead, I am the Head of the House of Black now, I order you to retrieve the locket"

Kreacher sneered, but left the room.

Hermione reached into her beaded bag and pulled out the locket she had in her bag. It was an exact replica of Slytherin's locket.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm going to switch them out"

"Why?"

"First of all, Regulus gave that locket to Kreacher when he was dying and his last words were to protect it. Second of all, it means a lot to Kreacher that Regulus gave this locket to him, Regulus meant a lot to him. And lastly, if Dumbledore does discover the location of the locket, when he comes here he will find the fake one. It's another fail safe"

"I don't know how you come up these things" he chuckled and she shrugged.

Kreacher returned with the locket and reluctantly handed it over to Sirius, once he had ordered him to. Kreacher glared at them the entire time. Hermione turned so her back was to Kreacher and she took the locket from Sirius. She put the real locket in her robe pocket and held the fake one up as if she was examining it.

"Well, it's not the locket we are looking for, but it's close" Hermione commented and then she turned around and handed the fake locket to Kreacher. "Thank you for getting it for us Kreacher, unfortunately it wasn't the locket we needed"

"You may go" Sirius said and Kreacher glared at him and then left the room.

Hermione sighed in relief and Sirius chuckled.

"That was a lot easier than I thought it would be" she muttered. He pulled her into a tight hug and she sighed and pressed her ear over his heart, hearing the calming beat.

"Where are you going to destroy it?"

"I can't do it here, there isn't enough space and backlash of the Horcrux will hurt anyone that's too close. Maybe Malfoy Manor, Lucius said we could use the old stable when we need to destroy a Horcrux"

"They'll track us there, maybe even have some aurors question him" Sirius pointed out.

"I know, that's what I'm counting on" he pulled back slightly so he could look down at her and he raised a curious eyebrow. "Did you know that the Malfoy's own an apartment building in Portugal?" she asked innocently.

"What's that got to do with anything?" he asked confused.

"Well, one of the locations in that file we had planted was Lisbon, Portugal. So if the aurors visit the Malfoys and ask about our visitation with them, they will reveal that we asked for information about Portugal, mainly Lisbon. It's another piece of evidence that we are interested in Portugal, meaning there must be something important there" she grinned at him.

"You could be the Mistress of Magic one day"

"No, I hate politics" he laughed at her.

He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers and the kiss grew more passionate. They pulled away from each other when the floo roared to life and they heard a shrieking.

Hermione winced, she hadn't missed that sound. The sound of Walburga Black. Sirius kept his arm around her waist and flush against his side.

"Filthy blood-traitor" she spat. "You are not worthy to be in the house of a Black" she gripped her wand tightly.

Hermione heard Sirius' low chuckle and his eyes darkened and narrowed at her.

"I guess it's too bad that I'm Lord Black now then" he drawled. Walburga's face filled with rage and disgust.

"Never, I would let the noble House of Black burn before I let failure like you have the title. You are a disgrace"

Hermione bristled beside him and he looked down to see an enraged look on her face, he had never seen that look before, not even when she was arguing with Moody and Dumbledore.

"Listen you worthless old hag" Hermione said in low and cold tone. Walburga's eyes widened and before she could scream her outage, Hermione spoke. "Sirius is not a failure, you are. Your son died because of you, it was your fault because you pushed him into serving that psychotic arsehole and I have my suspicions about your husband's death too" she glared at her. "Sirius is Lord Black, in the eyes of the law and Gringotts, your opinion has no worth, check the family tapestry if you don't believe me, he should been reinstated, and has been since the death of both your husband and son. This house you are residing in is Sirius' property; you have no claim to any of it. If I were you I would be more grateful that your son has shown you mercy. If it was me I would've kicked you out on your hideous arse long ago" Sirius gripped her tighter and stared down at her with an intensity that made her shiver.

Hermione saw the flash of light before she heard the words. She pushed Sirius away from her, he fell to the ground and she dived in the opposite direction.

The spell that was aimed at her slammed against the wall and left a large gaping hole.

"It's surprisingly an improvement" she commented and she heard Sirius laugh. She and Sirius both pulled their wands and pointed them at Walburga.

Sirius sent a stunner and it missed by millimetres, Hermione sent the disarming charm and she caught the wand in her hand. But she hadn't expected for Walburga to have a second wand hidden under her robes.

"CRU..." Hermione panicked as Walburga pointed her wand at Sirius, no shield or spell could stop an Unforgivable.

She quickly looked around, and just as the beam of light left the tip of Walburga's second wand, Hermione caught sight of a hand held mirror on the small table by the side of the revolting floral patterned couch. She flicked her wand and levitated it in front of Sirius, as his eyes widened.

Just before the spell hit Sirius, the spell collided with the mirror, and instead of the mirror shattering, the spell rebounded and headed straight for Walburga. Her eyes widened in shock as the spell caught her in the chest and she fell to the floor with a piercing scream, the curse only lasted a couple of seconds since it wasn't being controlled.

Hermione sent a Petrificus Totalus at her and accioed her second wand. She then cast an Incarcerous. She spotted something on the arm of Walburga. She bent down and raised the sleeve of her left arm further up and Hermione gasped. On Walburga's arm was the dark mark.

Hermione moved away from her disgusted and headed for the floo. She placed a call to the Magical Law Enforcement Department and then headed for Sirius who was still on the floor and staring in shock.

He looked up at her when she fell to her knees beside him. He shook his head and laughed in disbelief.

"I never thought I'd see the day she got a taste of her own medicine" he said. She looked at him sadly and he pulled her to him, hugging her tightly. "Thank you" he spoke quietly.

"I wasn't going to let her hurt you, over her dead body"

"Said it wrong" he muttered.

"No, I said what I meant and I meant what I said" he chuckled at her. He pulled back and kissed her softly.

"Genius idea using that mirror to deflect the curse"

"I wasn't sure it would work, but it did, which means it will likely work on other curses as well. We should start carrying mirrors with us, they can deflect curses that shields can't" he nodded in agreement and kissed her once more before the aurors arrived.

It was Fabian and Gideon, along with two aurors in training. Their eyes widened when they entered and looked at Hermione with wide eyes. When she nodded subtly they released the breath they were holding, they weren't hurt.

"Lord Black, Miss Granger, we received word that there was an attack" Gideon said and Hermione was amazed at how professional they were being, she didn't think they were capable of it, although they were senior aurors and she had never seen them at work before.

"Yes, we came here because we wished to find a book in the Black Library. Ms Black returned and she wasn't happy to hear that Sirius was the head of the family. When we were distracted she cast a spell at us, we managed to move out of the way. We're not sure what spell it was, but it caused that" she pointed to the hole in the wall that was currently smoking. "Sirius cast a stunner and missed, I disarmed her, but she had a second wand. She tried to Crucio, Sirius" their eyes widened. "I used that mirror to deflect the curse, it rebounded and hit her in the chest. When she fell to the ground I body-binded her and tied her up. If you check her left arm you will see that Ms Black has the dark mark" they gave her a look and she nodded again, promising them that neither of them were hurt.

Their wands were taken and diagnostic spells were cast to determine the last spells used and the results were recorded. Their memories were taken and put into vials as evidence and Walburga was taken to the Ministry's holding cells, pending a trial.

With the two aurors in training out of sight, Fabian and Gideon stepped forward.

"Do you have it?" they asked.

She nodded and removed the book from her beaded bag and handed it over.

"I made a copy"

"What's that?" Sirius asked.

"A book on wards, there's only three copies of it in existence, well four but I don't count" she shrugged.

"Dumbledore and Moody are going to hear about this and they're going to want to know what you were doing here" Fabian said.

"So we tell them that you were here collecting a book, of course we're going to tell them that you lied about the title, and when you left we found this book suspiciously out of place" Gideon spoke. "We'll tell him we made a copy and give it to him. This combined with the knowledge of the forged file and your soon to be visitation with Malfoy, will be more than suspicious. He will believe that you are focusing your attention on Portugal and that you have found a need for breaking powerful wards, which in itself is suspicious" Sirius stared at them and then looked down at Hermione who was smiling smugly.

As soon as they left and it was only the two of them in the house, Sirius rounded on Hermione with a hungry look his eyes. He backed her up against a wall and proceeded to snog her until she was breathless and panting, moving his mouth down to her neck and he pushed his hips against hers, as she moaned and gripped his hair tightly.

"We can't do this now" she panted.

"We can" he growled against her skin and she gasped and tugged on his hair when he bit down on her neck.

"No, we're being tracked remember. We need to get to Malfoy Manor and destroy the Horcrux, I am not keeping it anywhere near the apartment and I will not risk it falling into the wrong hands, it needs to be destroyed straight away"

"Afterwards then" he smirked against her skin.

"Magical exhaustion, at least three days, remember?" he groaned in annoyance and pulled away to scowl at her and she laughed, especially when she felt the bulge in his trousers pressed against her.

"Imagine what Moody's reaction was to you sending him that photo and letter" she smirked. He paled and he no longer required the use of a cold shower and she laughed. "Let's go, besides, I haven't seen Draco or Theo in two weeks"

* * *

 **Malfoy Manor**

"The locket?" Lucius asked as they entered Narcissa's lounge where she was sat watching the two toddlers playing together.

"Mi-mi-mia" Draco clapped when he saw her and they laughed.

"Hello, Draco" she picked him up and he hugged her tightly and giggled when she spun in circles.

She put him back on the ground and sat beside him on the ground. Theo was eyeing her carefully, he had only met her once before, but he seemed to warm up to her when he saw the way Draco reacted to her.

"Yes, we have it" Hermione finally answered his question whilst she drew a picture with the parchment and crayons covering the floor. "And we had a lovely outcome as well, one I wasn't expecting" she smirked and they both looked at her intrigued.

They quickly explained what had happened and they started laughing.

"Walburga was always vain, to think the thing she loved the most, her precious mirror, was her undoing" Narcissa said and they laughed.

"Now, the aurors will track us here, so this is the plan" once more they quickly told them about what they were to say if they were questioned and they complimented Hermione's intelligence. Half an hour later Lucius apparated Hermione and Sirius to the stables so the locket could be destroyed. Twenty minutes later it was done and Sirius caught Hermione before she fell to the ground.

"Is it done?" Narcissa asked when they returned from the stables, a sleeping Hermione in Sirius arms.

"It is, two more left and then Voldemort himself. I'm sorry we can't stay, you saw what Harry was like the last time she did this" she nodded in understanding.

"I'm not sure when we'll next see you; we'll try and keep in touch without alerting the trackers" Sirius spoke before he apparated home.

* * *

 **Sirius Apartment - Friday 12th March 1982**

"It's about time" Sirius commented as Hermione walked into the living room. "You've been out for seven days. You've had us worried, you've never been out that long"

"Sorry, the locket was a lot harder to destroy; it's been the strongest one so far. I think I also breathed in some of that smoke from Walburga's spell and it affected me" she commented as she sat on the couch beside him. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side and she rested her head against him.

"I can't believe I missed the full moon" she said sadly.

"It's okay, Moony was a little antsy, he's gotten used to having you there but we managed just fine. Narcissa came over to watch over Harry for us, since she isn't being tracked and we couldn't risk Molly being caught"

"Where are the others?" she asked.

"James is getting Harry dressed and Remus has gone into Diagon Alley to get some more pumpkin juice and cauldron cakes" Hermione chuckled tiredly. "He should be back any minute"

"Why don't you boys go out for the day? You've all been cooped up for close to three weeks and it's not fair. Take Harry to a muggle park. I'll pack you a picnic for lunch, you'll be followed but you're not doing anything suspicious"

"What about you?"

"I'm still a little tired and I have some more research to do, I'll join you later if I'm feeling up to it"

"I don't like the thought of leaving you alone"

"I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself, thank you very much"

"I didn't say that you weren't"

"So it's settled then, when Remus returns, he, James, Harry and you will go to a muggle park. I'll go and make some food now. You tell James the plan" she got up from the couch and headed to the kitchen.

She accioed the wicker basket and blanket and set about making food and filling up the wicker basket until it barely closed.

Half an hour later, Remus had returned and been told of the plan and everyone was ready.

"Are you sure about this?" James asked worriedly.

"Get out" Hermione spoke pointing to the door and they chuckled at her.

"We won't be too long, Love" Sirius said, kissing her.

"If you're back in less than four hours I'll hex you" she scowled.

"Four hours?" he nodded quickly and she smirked. She kissed James, and gave Harry and Remus a kiss to the cheek, sending them on their way.

Hermione sighed and headed to the bathroom. She had a relaxing shower before dressing and sitting down in the living room with several books.

Two hours later the front door opened.

"I told you what would happen if you were back before four hours" Hermione said not taking her eyes off her book. "Now, which hex should I use?" she asked with a smirk. When she looked up her smirk dropped and she felt panic wash over her.

It wasn't Remus, James, Harry or Sirius.

* * *

AN: Please don't be mad, it is my first cliff hanger of the story and we're already on chapter 19.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: The Attack**

* * *

AN: I am incredibly sorry that I am posting this two days later than I usually would, my only excuse is that I started my first week as a Nursery Nurse Assistant and I am incredibly exhausted. But I promise to never make you wait this long again; I will keep on top of my posting.

Warning – A massive character personality change takes place in this chapter. I just thought I'd let you all know as a warning, in case you don't wish to continue with this story.

Super MKatR – We have some long awaited triad smut coming soon. I promise.

* * *

 **Hogwarts - Friday 12th March 1982**

Dumbledore was in his office when an owl arrived. He took the letter from the owl and opened it. It held three words. _She is alone._

Dumbledore dropped the letter onto his desk and quickly left through the floo. Being Headmaster had its perks, meaning he wasn't confined to school grounds.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment**

It definitely wasn't her boys that had entered the apartment. There were three figures, all dressed in black robes and wearing Death Eater masks.

Hermione quickly stood and banished her books back to her heavily warded book case. The books she had could not fall into the wrong hands for the safety of everyone.

Before she could speak a spell was thrown her way and she didn't have time to dodge it or cast a shield. The spell hit her in the chest and it sent her flying across the room until her back hit a wall and she landed on the floor with a groan. She had never felt a spell so powerful.

She gripped her wand tightly and tried to sit up but she was hit with another spell, pushing her back against the wall once more and she groaned again.

Her wand was disarmed and it lied on the floor too far out of reach.

One of the robed figures stepped in front of her and the other two stood guarding the door. They waved their wands casting Merlin knows what spells.

She blinked back the tears of pain she felt in her back and looked up at the masked figure.

"What do you know about the Horcruxes?" the robed figure asked. She didn't answer and she was hit with a slicing hex to her arm and she hissed. "What do you know about the Horcruxes?" he sent another slicing hex when he realised that she wasn't going to answer. He bent down and looked her in the eyes.

Hermione's eyes widened at what she saw. It was obvious the robes and mask were to disguise the identity of the man. It was obvious a voice changing spell had been used. But the one thing that hadn't been changed was the eyes. And Hermione would recognise those blue eyes anywhere... it was Dumbledore.

Before she realised what was happening she felt a dull throb in her head and she could feel the presence of another. Hermione panicked. He was using legilimency. Hermione was average at best at occlumency and would never be able to stop Dumbledore. She brought up her mental shields and Dumbledore hit hard against them, trying to find a way in and in the process causing Hermione massive pain. It took barely a minute to break them down. Hermione quickly cleared her mind and thought of nothing but her previous time line. Her childhood memories came to the forefront of her mind distracting Dumbledore, making him search through everything and giving her time. The moon wasn't out, but she had always been a powerful witch.

She ignored the pounding headache Dumbledore was causing and summoned her magic within her, felt it building and building until she couldn't control it. She pushed it towards Dumbledore and forced him out of her head. She gasped loudly and clutched at her temples and she tore her eyes away from his and shut them tightly, preventing another round of legilimency.

She heard Dumbledore's irritated grumble.

"If you want me to tell you anything, you're going to have to try a lot harder than that" Hermione panted. "Although I confess, I didn't think you were the type of person to confront someone when they are at their weakest. You know full well that my magic is stronger when the moon is out, that just goes to show the type of man you are" Hermione taunted and she slowly opened her eyes to see Dumbledore looking down at her in disgust.

He pointed his wand and sent another slicing hex at her, this time her stomach, blood covered her white t-shirt.

"You're that desperate that you resort to illegal measures? But you see I'm not surprised; you're responsible for your sister's death aren't you? What was her name again? Ariana?"

She never expected the next words to ever leave his mouth, but they did.

"Crucio" he spoke.

Hermione was hit with the spell. Her body arched up off the floor and she bit her tongue to prevent the sounds that were desperate to be released. No, she had faced Voldemort more than once, she had been tortured by Bellatrix for ten hours. She had destroyed five Horcruxes all together. She was not going to let one man and one spell beat her. The feeling of having white hot knives craving into her subsided and she gasped and panted on the floor.

Hermione gave a breathy laugh. "The use of an Unforgivable earns you a one way ticket to Azkaban" Hermione taunted. "I imagine there would be a lot of people in there that hate you. Not to mention your reputation would be ruined. How did you beat Grindelwald again? I've heard rumours"

"Crucio" he spoke again.

Pain filled her. She could feel her blood boiling, her bones breaking, her organs rupturing. And then the pain stopped.

"What are you up to?" he asked her.

"You know, Bellatrix was much better at this than you are, yet she didn't break me and neither will you. You can Crucio me all you want, but we'll be here for a while"

"What are you looking for in Lisbon?"

"What? Can't figure it out without me? I told you, you wouldn't be able to win this war without me" he pointed his wand at her and she prepared herself.

"They're breaking through the wards" one of the figures spoke up.

Dumbledore immediately walked away from Hermione.

"Leave now" he ordered them. They apparated out of the apartment, Dumbledore following behind them, just as the door burst open.

* * *

 **Muggle Park**

The spring weather was warm and there was a cool breeze in the air. Harry had a great time playing in the park and they ate the picnic Hermione had packed for them.

They had been at the park for two hours before Harry started screaming, drawing the attention of everyone around them.

"MIMI! MIMI!" he yelled as tears streamed down his face. The three adults shared worried looks before they packed away and quickly left the muggle park to find an alley way they could apparate from.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment**

They landed outside of Sirius' apartment with Harry still screaming hysterically. Sirius was the first to move forward for the door, but before he could he was pushed away and landed on his back.

"Wards have been put up" Remus said in shock and he grabbed his wand and began waving it and muttering under his breath. "It wasn't Mia, her magical signature isn't embedded in the wards, it was someone else; I don't recognise the signature though. The wards are strong and advanced, I can't break them"

"Shit" Sirius cursed and he started pacing, running his hands through his hair.

"If she didn't put the wards up, it means someone else did. Which means there is someone else with her, and if it was anything innocent wards wouldn't be needed to keep people out. Something's happened" James said, whilst trying to soothe a still screaming Harry. "What do we do?"

"Wait a minute, I think I've found something" Remus said.

"What?" they asked quickly.

"Like I said before, the wards that are in place are very advanced and strong, but there isn't a ward to keep out animagi" Sirius and James looked out each other. "If an animagi can get through, the wards will automatically break"

Sirius quickly changed into Padfoot and walked through the wards without an issue. He changed back and opened the front door, he turned behind him to see the others step forward without an issue and then he ran up the stairs and opened the door to the apartment to see Hermione on the floor and a pool of blood. She looked up at him and he heard gasps come from behind him.

He rushed forward and dropped to his knees.

"What happened?" he asked panicked.

"Dumbledore Crucioed me twice" she croaked. "He wanted to know about the Horcruxes and what we are up to. He tried to use legilimency on me but I pushed him out of my head before he could find anything important" Sirius growled. "There were three of them, they were wearing Death Eater masks and robes to disguise themselves, but I knew it was Dumbledore"

"James, bring Harry here" Sirius ordered quickly.

"You'll have to take me to St. Mungos, Harry can't heal me; he's not powerful enough yet"

"He heals you when you're done destroying a Horcrux" James said kneeling down next to her.

"He takes away the effects; he doesn't actually cure my magical exhaustion. He's not powerful enough yet. You'll have to take me to St. Mungos. It's not safe here for you, pack a bag and go to Malfoy Manor, you'll be safe there" with that said she passed out.

"Shit" Sirius cursed again. Harry was still crying hysterically, Sirius gently picked her up in his arms and stood heading for the floo with James and Harry behind him.

"Remus, pack some stuff and head to Malfoy Manor, let them know what's happened and we'll meet you there" James spoke and Remus nodded and headed for the bedrooms.

* * *

 **St. Mungos**

"HELP, I NEED SOME HELP! SHE'S BEEN CRUCIOED" Sirius yelled in a panic.

All activity stopped and everyone turned to look at him, the unconscious Hermione in his arms, James and a screaming Harry. Visitors, patients and staff.

A healer rushed forward and gestured for Sirius to follow him. He led them to an empty room and she was deposited on the hospital bed and Sirius was pushed away as another healer rushed into the room. Both healers were running their wands over Hermione's form, casting diagnostic spells.

"What happened?" the first healer asked.

"She told me she was Crucioed twice" Sirius said with tears in his eyes and James was no better.

"She told you?" the other healer turned to him.

"She fell unconscious just before we flooed here"

They nodded and turned their attention back to Hermione and they started casting spells, taking potions from shelves and pouring them down her throat. Fifteen minutes later they turned back to Sirius and James.

"Her cuts have been healed and we've done the best we can to stop the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse. All that's left is for her to wake up. We'll want to keep her in for the next couple of days and observe her condition but she should be fine, she'll pull through this"

"Thank you" both James and Sirius said and the healers nodded.

"The aurors have been called and will be arriving soon" they nodded and the healers left the room. As soon as they did they went over to Hermione's bed and Harry was placed on the bed next to Hermione. They both glowed and Harry fell asleep.

"Hopefully that's a good sign" James spoke and he looked up at Sirius. He had never seen him look so lost, so distraught. "She'll be okay, you know our Mia, she's as stubborn as a mule. The minute she wakes she'll be demanding to be discharged" Sirius gave a laugh that turned into a sob.

James walked around the bed and gave Sirius a hug, trying to prevent his own tears. It was Lily all over again. Except this time Mia survived.

"She'll be okay" he repeated.

There was a knock on the door and they pulled away and Sirius wiped his eyes. It was Fabian and Gideon. They entered the room and closed the door behind them, casting a silencing charm.

"What happened?" they asked quickly.

"Dumbledore, he questioned her and Crucioed her twice" James spoke angry. A look of disbelief crossed their faces before turning to anger.

"I can't believe it" they growled.

"There were three of them and they disguised themselves as Death Eaters. Mia said the only one she recognised was Dumbledore"

"Is she going to be okay?" Fabian asked looking at Hermione's unconscious form, with Harry sleeping next to her.

"Yes, they want to keep her in for a few days after she wakes"

"We'll have to make a formal report; it's now public knowledge that someone was Crucioed"

"We know, this was planned. They knew she would be alone. They must've watched us leave the apartment without her and sent word to Dumbledore. They put wards up that we couldn't break. Remus found a loop hole that Dumbledore didn't take into account"

"What?"

"There were no anti-animagus wards" Sirius replied.

"What good is that?" Gideon asked confused.

"We're animagi, Sirius, Mia and I" James spoke. The twin's eyes widened.

"You're not registered, that's illegal. We'll have to arrest you" Fabian said.

"We are registered" Sirius spoke, they looked up at him.

"Mia didn't want Dumbledore to discover our secret and use it as leverage. So when we visited the Minister regarding Lucius' release from Azkaban, we filled out the appropriate paperwork and the Minister signed off on it. All three of us are registered"

"That's genius" Gideon commented.

"That's Mia" James spoke.

"When I walked through the wards in my animagus form, the wards broke and allowed the others through. By the time we reached her, Dumbledore was gone. We have anti-apparition wards on the apartment but they must've changed them to allow them to leave, we would've heard the floo if they left that way"

"We'll file a report and an investigation will have to be done, of course we'll say it was Death Eaters, but we'll know better. We'll head to your apartment and collect any evidence that's left. We'll need her clothes as well"

* * *

Later that evening Narcissa, Lucius and Remus entered the room with Draco and Theo, who were both asleep.

"Remus explained what happened" Narcissa said angrily. "Is she going to be alright?"

"Yeah, they'll discharge her in a couple of days; they want to observe her for now. She hasn't woken up yet" Sirius said tiredly, from his place sat beside her bed.

"You're welcome to stay at the Manor for as long as needed" Lucius offered. "It's the least we can do after all that you have done for us"

"Thank you, Lucius" James said just as tired.

"Where are the healers?" Remus asked.

"They haven't been back since the last time they were here"

"When was that?"

"Six hours or so"

"That is ridiculous" Narcissa fumed. "She will be a Black and a Potter someday"

"Don't go getting ahead of yourself, Cissa" Sirius spoke.

"You're telling me that you can't see yourself marrying her? Either of you?" she asked them and they didn't answer. "That's what I thought" she huffed. "Someone related to the Blacks, Potters and Malfoys, the three most powerful and wealthy houses of the United Kingdom, deserves better treatment. This is preposterous. Wait right here" she handed the sleeping Draco over to Remus and then stormed out of the room.

"I feel sorry for anyone who gets in her way" Lucius muttered.

There was a knock on the door and everyone turned to look at the new arrival who no one expected to see.

"McGonagall" James said surprised.

"I guess Albus' suspicions of you being involved with Lord Malfoy's release are correct" she spoke, stepping into the room.

"What are you doing here? Did Dumbledore send you to make sure he was successful?" Sirius growled. McGonagall looked taken aback by his outburst.

"No, I honestly have no idea what you are talking about" she spoke. "I read in the Prophet that Miss Granger was attacked by Death Eaters"

"You and I both know it wasn't Death Eaters, there are none left in England, they've fled and wouldn't risk returning"

"If it wasn't Death Eaters why was it stated that it was?" she asked confused.

"Because it was Dumbledore disguised as a Death Eater" Sirius almost yelled and he stood up quickly with a sudden burst of energy.

"No, Albus would never..."

"Never what Minnie? Crucio my girlfriend and twice no less? He did, she told us before she passed out and I trust her with my life. She'll likely show us her memories when she wakes if you want proof that your precious Albus is a traitorous bastard" Sirius spat.

McGonagall's eyes widened further.

"But don't worry, he's not going to Azkaban" James spoke with a cold tone she had never heard from him before. "Yet" he added. "Mia trusted him. She brought to him the biggest secret anyone could possibly have. She told him how he had fucked up and he didn't like that. She told him what needed to be done and he didn't like that. He tried to use my son as bait and Mia got in the way, he didn't like that. And when she refused to do something that would kill her, he didn't like that either. And now he knows the secret to immortality. He's just as crazed as Voldemort"

"Don't you dare compare him to him to You Know Who" McGonagall snapped.

"Wake up and smell the roses, Minnie. He has you fooled, just like everyone else that is blindly following him. You've seen firsthand what he is capable of. You've seen from Mia's memories what he's capable of. He killed his sister, Ariana, did you know that? Did you know that he and Grindelwald had a relationship in their younger years? Think about it Minnie, he never married. He manipulated Harry for years, refusing to tell him everything he knew and it wasted time and put more pressure on Harry and Hermione. He made Snape do an unbreakable vow to kill him. He wanted to use Harry, a toddler, as bait. He ignored Hermione's advice and it cost lives because of it. He's been cold to her since he realised she is a threat to him. He's the one that put Lucius in prison and he was an innocent man. He Crucioed Mia in her own home when she was defenceless and alone" Sirius had moved from his chair and was now stood in front of McGonagall and glaring down at her horrified face.

"Sirius" Remus spoke in warning. Sirius looked at him and then went back to his seat and sat down.

"He's killed, he's tortured and he's manipulated. I wouldn't be surprised if he's used the Imperius; just add it to the list"

Hermione choose that moment to wake up. She groaned and when she did, Sirius and James stood up and leaned over her. Sirius picked up the sleeping Harry and held him in his arms to give Hermione more space to move.

Her eyes fluttered open and she stared at two wide smiles.

"It's good to your eyes again, Love" Sirius said and he kissed her cheek.

"What happened?" she groaned and James helped her to sit up, sitting behind her on the bed so she leaned against his chest.

"You're in hospital, Mia" James spoke and he kissed her cheek.

"You listened to me, it must be the end of the world" they chuckled at her.

"We've come to learn you know what's best"

"About time"

"How are you feeling?" she looked up at Remus.

"I'm feeling fine, never would've thought I was Crucioed again. What is it with me and that curse?"

"Who was it?" Lucius asked.

"They were dressed as Death Eaters. There were three of them, two of them stood by the door and they were waving their wands and muttering under their breath"

"Harry started screaming for you and we knew something was wrong. When we got to the apartment we realised they had put up wards, we couldn't get in" Sirius said.

"I didn't know who the other two were, but the third I knew. He used a voice changing spell, but when he looked at me I saw it. Dumbledore's eyes"

"What did he want?" McGonagall asked. Hermione looked at her suspiciously.

"He threw me against the wall twice before I could even blink. He asked me what I was up to and about the Horcruxes, he asked me about Lisbon. He hit me with a few slicing hexes and Crucioed me twice. They apparated out when they realised the wards had been broken. They left just before the door was flung open"

She winced.

"What's the matter?" James asked quickly.

"My back's a little sore, it was slammed against a wall twice" James scowled and gently rubbed circles on her back.

"I.I. I have to go" McGonagall muttered before leaving the room.

"She's figured it out" Remus sighed and then Narcissa entered the room, along with a healer who looked to have been crying.

"Miss Granger, we are terribly sorry that you have not been seen by a healer since your arrival. You will be discharged and Lady Malfoy's personal healer will take over your care" with that said she turned and scurried out of the room with a fearful glance at Narcissa.

"What did you say to her?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I simply informed her that the future wife of a Black and Potter was to have better care"

"Of course you did" Sirius rolled his eyes disbelievingly.

"A port key is being arranged and the Malfoy healer will arrive at the manor in less than an hour" Narcissa spoke.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Potter Manor**

* * *

AN: Soon you'll see whether your suspicions are correct regarding Dumbledore's two other helpers.

lsmd1994 – I'll add that pairing to my list, if you check my profile you'll see the list of fanfics I've been requested to write, it may take a while but I will get to it, I promise.

SereniteRose – I have plans for Dumbledore, at the minute I am going to keep things quiet with him after what just happened, but something will happen in the future.

padfootsgrl79 – I agree, Narcissa should not be messed with, after all, she did lie straight to the face of Voldemort regarding Harry's death.

* * *

 **Malfoy Manor – Wednesday 17th March 1982**

It has been five days since Hermione's torture at the hands of Dumbledore. Five days since she had been moved from St. Mungos to Malfoy Manor and under the care of the Malfoy's private healer. Five days of her boyfriends' overbearing protective behaviour, never leaving her bedside. Five days of constant chaperones. Five days of bed rest. The healer had deemed her perfectly healthy two days ago for Merlin's sake.

The entire Weasley clan had even visited. She had no idea how since they couldn't risk being caught with her, but they assured her it was safe for them. Bill had immediately began fawning over her, Charlie spoke about dragons, the twins looked upset that she was hurt and couldn't make fireworks with them and Percy watched her over his book. She had loved them visiting but she was now losing her mind.

She had had enough of it. Even in the apartment she had space to herself. At the Manor, they wouldn't even let her go to the bathroom by herself, and once she had finished she was ushered back into bed.

She was beyond annoyed, Dumbledore had barely been there long, half an hour tops. He had only Crucioed her twice. She had suffered ten hours of torture under Bellatrix, and she was a lot more skilled and experienced at torture than Dumbledore had been. She needed some time away, some time for herself, time to breathe. With that in mind she turned her attention to the house elf that was guarding her, if someone wasn't with her, a house elf was.

"Gultri?" Hermione called.

"What cans Gultri dos for the Miss?" he asked with a bow.

"I would love a cup of tea, if you wouldn't mind" Hermione smiled at the young elf.

"Gultri bes back" he said, smiling at her smile and he left the room.

"Time to make a break for it" she said out loud.

She climbed out of bed and headed for the open window. It was a lovely spring day and she breathed in the clean air and smiled. She pulled her wand and pointed it out the window. She whispered a spell and rope shot out of the tip of her wand and tied to the balcony on the floor above her. She climbed out of the window and climbed down the rope, being on the second floor it was too far for her to jump without injuring herself.

When her feet touched the floor, she pocketed her wand and promptly changed into her fox and she ran across the large grounds, heading for the forest.

* * *

Everyone was gathered in the main lounge, the three toddlers playing together peacefully and the adults discussing Mia's plans for the White Lions, when Gultri appeared in the room.

"Gultri is sorry Mistress" he said distressed and everyone turned to him. "The Miss is gones from her rooms"

"WHAT?" Sirius bellowed, causing the adults and the children to jump in shock.

"Miss asked for a cups of teas and whens I returned shes was gone"

Sirius and James immediately ran to her room, Remus and Lucius behind them and Narcissa stayed with the children.

When they reached her room they looked around and Sirius stopped and sniffed the air when he caught the scent of something. He headed to the window and stuck his head out and looked down, before catching the sight of the rope hanging from above and blowing in the breeze.

"Clever witch" Sirius mumbled. He turned to face the others. "She's still on the grounds"

"I'll have the house elves organise a search party" Lucius spoke.

"It won't work, she in her animagus form, you'll never find her"

Remus chuckled. "She really is a genius, how did she do it?"

"Climbed down a rope" Remus burst out laughing. "Sounds like something she'd do"

"We'll head into the forest, that's where she'll be" James said.

"We'll let the others know" Remus spoke and they all went their separate ways.

Sirius and James climbed out the window and down the rope, before turning into their animagus forms and taking off at a run, following the fox's scent.

It took them fifteen minutes until they found her in the middle of a clearing in the forest, laid down on her stomach, her feet tucked under her.

 _'You should be in bed'_ Sirius' voice entered her mind. Hermione sat up and turned to face the stag and large black dog. She growled at them and they stopped on their way towards her, staying back a good few feet and out of reach.

 _'I am fine'_

 _'You were tortured. You are not fine'_ Sirius said angrily.

 _'Yes, I am. Healer Dunning gave me a clean bill of health two days ago. I am sick and tired of being on bed rest. I am sick of everyone fawning over me. I am sick of being treated like fragile china that could break at a single touch. It's not the first time I've been tortured, if you remember. Dumbledore Crucioed me twice, Bellatrix tortured me for ten hours. What Dumbledore did practically tickled'_ she yelled in their minds. _'Stop being so protective. I know that you care and that you're worried for me. But I've been trying to tell you for days that I am fine. I need space to breathe. I need to get back to work. I am not hurt in any way, shape or form, I don't even have a scar'_ she said softly, her anger gone. _'Please just stop. I appreciate everything you have done, you have been amazing and attentive, the type of boyfriends any witch would wish for, but please, for me, stop'_

 _'We're sorry, Mia'_ James entered her mind. _'We should've seen that our actions were affecting you this way. We were just worried for you; we'll listen to you from now on. I promise'_

 _'That's all I ask'_ she replied softly.

The stag moved over to her and nuzzled its nose against hers and he plopped down next to her on the ground. The dog looked at her for a few seconds before cautiously moving forward. When he was close enough the fox nuzzled her nose against his and she felt the tension leave him and he sat down on her other side, sandwiching her between the stag and himself.

 _'I'm sorry for snapping at you'_

 _'We're sorry'_ Sirius sighed. _'We should've known you were fine. Harry hasn't been kicking up a fuss and it was wrong of us to keep you in that room. We know how much you hate being confined to one place; it goes against your nature as a wild animal to be free'_

 _'I forgive you'_

They sat in silence for a little while before Hermione broke the silence.

 _'I want to go home'_

 _'We can't, it's not safe'_ Sirius said sadly.

 _'I can't stay here. Don't get me wrong, the manor is beautiful and I love the Malfoys and little Theo, but I can't stay here. I've been having flashbacks to the night of Bellatrix torturing me. It seems being here for so long has affected me. I feel like bawling my eyes out every time I even think of the drawing room'_

 _'There's nowhere else to go that's safe'_ James pointed out.

 _'That's not true; there are loads of places. We simply cast a Fidelius, making the property unplottable and inaccessible to anyone we don't wish to have access'_

 _'It takes a hell of a lot of magic to cast the Fidelius, Dumbledore did it for us on the cottage and he had to rest for two days afterwards'_ James spoke.

 _'I can cast the Fidelius, I researched it and I originally planned to cast it over the Burrow but I run out of time'_

 _"I'm not going back to that flat and neither are you. Harry is not getting anywhere near that place either"_ Sirius said. The fox nodded sadly. _'What about a Black property?'_

 _'No, Kreacher has a big mouth and he hates you. You could order him not to tell anyone that we're staying in a Black property, but he could still write it down and send it to someone'_

 _'House elves can't read and write'_ James said.

 _'Yes, they can, Dobby told me in fourth year. That rules out a Black property'_ she said thoughtfully, suddenly a though hit her. _'Potter Manor'_

 _'That's genius, I completely forgot about Potter Manor. I haven't been there since my seventh year'_ James spoke.

 _'What about the blood wards?'_ Sirius asked.

 _'They're should be fine for us. You and Remus already have access from years of visiting, you're keyed into the wards. Harry will automatically be allowed through the wards with him being a Potter and Mia should have access with her bond to Harry'_

 _'Is it alright with you James, using your family's manor?'_ Hermione asked.

 _'Of course, you won't have to squeeze all of your books onto one book case and your potion lab into your bedroom. I honestly don't know why I didn't think of it before'_ a look entered his eyes and he quickly changed back into James, Sirius and Hermione followed confused.

"Merlin" he whispered and then looked at Sirius. "You don't think, do you?" Sirius looked at him confused until James spoke again, standing up, followed by Hermione and Sirius. "Honey" he called.

A house elf popped into the clearing.

"Master, I knew you would never forget Honey" the house elf cried and she flung herself at him and wrapped her arms around his legs.

"I could never forget you, Honey" he said softly and the house elf pulled away with tears in her eyes.

"Lord Black" Honey said with a smile and Sirius grinned.

"It's been a while Honey"

"Honey, do you know what's happened?" James asked.

"Yes, Master" James nodded, not going further on the subject. "Honey, this is Mia, our girlfriend" Honey turned to Hermione and looked at her shyly. Hermione smiled softly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Honey"

"Miss Mia, is pretty" she said to James and he and Sirius smiled and nodded.

"Honey, we will be returning to Potter Manor" Honey's eyes gleamed with joy.

"Honey has taken good care of Master's Manor in his absence"

"I didn't doubt that you did" he said and Honey beamed. "Remus, Mia, Sirius and my son, Harry, will be joining me. It is not safe for us to return to our previous home. Will you please head over to Sirius' apartment, pack up all personal belongings and set them in their correct places. You may leave the food and furniture behind. Mia has a very dangerous and priceless collection of books and she will need a room to put them in, I would suggest the library but these books shouldn't be mixed up by accident. She also has a potions lab that will need packing up, along with rare potion ingredients and potions"

"Yes, Master, Honey knows where to go"

"Oh, James, honestly" Hermione huffed. "Making her do all of that by herself. I'll go with her. She won't be able to get to my books anyway; it's warded against anyone but me, including house elves. I'll be back shortly, tell the others our plans"

Before they could argue with her, Honey took Hermione's hand and they disappeared from view.

* * *

 **Sirius' Apartment**

When they arrived in the apartment the place was trashed and definitely not the way they left it. It looked as though Dumbledore had sent people to search the apartment for anything on their plans. Luckily Hermione never wrote anything down and if she did, she hid the notes and plans behind the books on the book cases, the wards protecting them.

"Honey will do the Master's and Little Master's things, Lord Black's, Mr Remus' and the bathroom" before Hermione could argue with the house elf she had walked down the corridor to the bedrooms.

Hermione shook her head amused and headed to her bedroom. It had been trashed as well. Clothes flung about the room, the bed over turned and covers on the floor and drawers emptied and on the floor. But the book case was untouched. She took her wand and waved it over the book case and she found that some of the wards had been breached but they had held strong and nothing was missing. She headed into her potions lab. The tables, cauldrons and stools were over turned. It was a good job she hadn't been in the process of brewing a potion and that she had burned all pieces of parchment with potion recipes on from the future. She was glad to see that the wards she had around her storage cupboard for the completed potions and the ingredients hadn't been broken either. She sighed annoyed.

 _'At least they didn't get anything'_ she thought before she went about conjuring cardboard boxes and sending spells, shrinking everything down and putting them into the boxes. She boxed up her potions lab, her books and research and her clothing. She grabbed her beaded bag from the book shelf, also protected by the wards and put the boxes inside.

She found Honey in the living room, picking up the last of Harry's stuffed toys in the room and she put them in a box and clicked her fingers, the box disappeared.

"Honey is done" she told Hermione. "Honey will return Miss Mia to Master"

Hermione nodded and cast a few extra warding spells to stop thieves from getting in and Honey grabbed her hand and they left the apartment.

* * *

 **Malfoy Manor**

They landed outside of the room everyone was in and Hermione handed her beaded bag to Honey.

"Be very careful Honey, there are very rare and irreplaceable books in this bag. A lot of them extremely dangerous and dark. The same for the potion ingredients, some of them are volatile as are the completed potions. I don't want you to get hurt"

"Honey will be careful Miss Mia" she said with a wide smile and she popped out of the room.

Hermione walked into the room and everyone turned to look at her. Sirius and James sighed in relief and rushed to her, hugging her between them.

"I'm fine, no one saw us" they reluctantly broke the hug. "The apartment was a tip, someone's been back there and it's obvious they were looking for something"

"Your plans, research, books?" James said panicked.

"Didn't get any of it, luckily I hid everything important behind my books" they sighed.

"That's good, your book case is warded like Gringotts" Hermione snorted at him.

"They were definitely interested in my book case though, I detected several breaches but the wards held and they got nothing. Honey has returned to the manor, no doubt unpacking everything"

"We should leave soon, it's already getting dark" Sirius commented.

"Are you sure you can cast the Fidelius?" Remus asked.

"With the moon up, I should be able to. Harry will be close by as well"

"What about Harry? He can't read"

"He's a child and a Potter, the Fidelius will automatically include him" Hermione answered.

* * *

 **Potter Manor**

They arrived outside the wards of Potter Manor and Hermione stared in shock. James, who was carrying Harry, Remus and Sirius immediately stepped forward, passing through the wards but Hermione was too busy staring at the manor.

It was large, aged and beautiful. It had mismatched grey stones, much like Hogwarts. Ivy and vines had grown up some parts of the building and they had little flowers blossoming. She could tell from the positioning of the large windows the manor had three floors, and she couldn't even guess the number of rooms and what other secrets it would contain. And she didn't even want to think about the size of the grounds.

"Mia" James called, she tore her eyes away from the manor and looked at James who looked at her amused. "You coming?" he asked her.

She took a deep breath, shut her eyes tightly and stepped forward. She could feel herself tingling, her magic buzzing, the wards had accepted her. She opened her eyes and beamed.

"You were right, they let me through" they chuckled at her. "Right, may as well do this now"

She pulled her wand and pointed it at the Manor. She looked at Harry and gripped her necklace in her other hand. Harry unconsciously tugged at the necklace around his neck, the necklace that he never took it.

She took a deep breath and started waving her wand in a complicated pattern and she muttered the incantation under her breath. They could visibly see the wards around the manor as they glowed a bright blue. She dropped her wand and walked over to Harry and held his hand.

"Siblings we are and siblings we will stand. Together we will protect the people and the land" she spoke softly and then she looked up at the moon.

Her necklace started glowing silver and she lifted her wand again. Waving the wand and muttering under her breath, they could see sweat beginning to form on her forehead and her face set in determination.

"He is my brother but not of blood, he does things I wish I could. We've been like siblings since the day we met, and I will forever be in his debt" she spoke and the grounds of the manor started to glow blue, along with the wards.

"So take his life and meld it with mine, so together we may share a blood line" she spoke as she continued to wave her wand.

"Siblings we are and siblings we will be. Together we'll stand for all eternity" Hermione spoke loudly. The manor began to glow blue, much like the grounds and wards. James gasped and Sirius and Remus followed his line of sight to the moon. The moon that suddenly seemed bigger and was glowing brighter.

"She's summoning magic from the Moon Goddess" Remus said awed and they stared at Hermione. Sweat was now running down her face and she was panting heavily. She suddenly gasped and stumbled backwards, everything stopped glowing and Sirius caught her.

"You did it" James said awed.

"That was amazing" Sirius said softly as he held her up.

"The wards are still accepting us, but we can't see the Manor" Remus said in wonder.

Hermione reached in to her pocket and pulled out the piece of parchment that had appeared in there. Written on the parchment was 'Potter Manor, home to Sirius Orion Black, Remus John Lupin, Mia Jean Granger, Lord James Charlus Potter and Harry James Potter, is located in Worcestershire, England'. Hermione passed the parchment to each of them and they read it out, afterwards Hermione burned the parchment.

Sirius supported her weak frame and helped her towards the now visible Manor.

"Welcome home everyone" James said and Hermione smiled.

Yes, it was home. She could feel it; somehow she knew she would have many happy memories in Potter Manor. They would be protected and nothing could break through the defences she had put into place, when doing the Fidelius she had also strengthened the wards.

They were stood in a large corridor that opened up to rooms on either side, a beautiful chandelier hung over them and a grand staircase was the first thing that caught your attention. Portraits of the Potter ancestors lined the walls and they smiled as they walked further into the manor. Unlike Malfoy Manor, the flooring was dark and wooden, there was a dark red carpet leading to the stair case. There was the main lounge off to the right, with comfortable looking couches and arm chairs, dark wooden tables and a large fireplace. Off to the left was the dining room. It had a dark wooden table set in the middle with twenty chairs. There was a large glass cabinet filled with delicate china and silver cutlery.

"We'll give you a tour later on Mia, you should rest for tonight" James said. Hermione agreed with him. "Honey" he called and she popped in front of them.

"Master is home" she beamed and they smiled at her.

"I assume we have our old rooms"

"Master is in the Master suite on the second floor, Lord Black in his old room, Mr Remus in his old room, Little Master has the room opposite Master's and Miss Mia's room is opposite Mr Remus'" Honey explained.

"We're all on the second floor, next to each other really" Sirius whispered in her ear as an explanation.

"Thank you, Honey"

"Would Master like dinner, Honey will have Tinkle, Ziggy and Lynn make dinner"

"They're still here?" he asked in shock.

"Yes, Master, Honey knew you would return and so they stayed" she said proudly.

"We would love dinner Honey; we will take it in Mia's room"

"Of course Master" she popped out of the room and James led everyone up the grand stair case, to the second floor and he took the left corridor.

"Okay, each room has a bathroom; there are seven on this floor. The other two are down the right corridor, along with the study, sitting room and the library, you'll have to wait Mia" he said chuckling when she scowled. "Padfoot's Room" James pointed to the first room they came across. "Moony's room" he pointed to the room adjacent to Sirius. "My room" he gestured to the room next to Remus'. "Harry's is opposite mine, and your room Mia, is next to Harry's" he stopped at the door and opened it.

Hermione's mouth dropped open when she saw inside. It was huge, almost three times bigger than her room at the apartment. Like her room at the apartment, it was decorated in black and white. Three black walls, one feature wall with a black and white pattern. The large king size bed -actually she thinks it's bigger than that- sat against the feature wall with brilliant white bedding and pillows. A white beside table and a beautiful lamp sat on it. A soft white carpet covered the floor, with two white arm chairs and a glass coffee table and there were large windows that showed beautiful views of the grounds and there was a large white vanity near the windows, with a comfortable chair to match. There were four doors that lead to separate rooms.

Sirius helped her to move forward so she could see inside the rooms. The first door led to a walk in wardrobe with all of her clothes already hung up and ordered neatly and correctly and her shoes on the built in shoe rack. The second door led to her bathroom. It had a large shower and bathtub and she practically groaned in appreciation -she couldn't remember the last time she had a relaxing bath- and there was a transparent bathroom cabinet above the sink and the toilet was nearby. The bathroom was decorated in the same black and white.

The third door opened up to store all of Hermione's books on shelves and when she looked closer, she noticed they were organised the same way they had been at the apartment. There were two overly large arm chairs and a writing desk, along with a corkboard for Hermione to pin up important notes and plans. It was like a mini version of a library. The final door opened up to a potions lab, and once more, it was set up how it had been at the apartment. Hermione marvelled at everything. The only thing that was missing was a kitchen and she would've had her own apartment.

"How?" she whispered.

"Honey's tricky, she knows everything. You get used to it" James shrugged.

"This room is huge" she muttered.

"It's the second largest bedroom in the manor, of course the master room is the largest. It used to be on the third floor but the elves moved it so we are all together. Padfoot's and Moony's rooms are one room smaller. I knew Honey would find you a room that would suit your needs. You won't have to ward your books anymore"

"I'm still going to with Sirius under the same roof" they laughed when Sirius huffed indignantly and he let go of her, and pushed her onto her bed and she laughed. Harry giggled and James put him on the bed and he crawled over to Hermione.

"Welcome home, Harry" she whispered to him and he grinned.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Happy Birthday**

* * *

AN: We finally have some smut! Just like I promised.

lsmd1994 - I'm thinking about five or six chapters left of this story.

* * *

 **Potter Manor – Wednesday 24th March 1982**

The first week at Potter Manor went by quickly. Hermione loved it. Potter Manor had working electricity. When she found that out she almost passed out. Lights. It meant she could use lights instead of spells and fire. Of course, technology didn't work around magic, but lights did. She had lights. They had laughed at her reaction for the first few days.

In that week they had all quickly settled in and Hermione had been given a tour of the manor and grounds and she loved it. Despite the size of the manor, it felt like home. A family home, every room had a purpose and it would be used. They had already invited over the Malfoys and the Weasleys for dinner and they used the dining room. The best part about the Fidelius was that the floo network was also untraceable, so the Weasleys and Malfoys could floo over without being tracked. The older boys were excited about the small quidditch pitch that was on the grounds, Percy loved the library and the twins loved to follow Hermione around.

In that week Hermione had completed more research, met the Potter house elves who were taken with her and they even let her cook in the kitchen with them and she felt free. She wasn't boxed in an apartment. She could move freely around the manor and explore the grounds, both in human and fox form. And best off all. Remus could go through the full moon whilst on the grounds. Hermione would ward the forest before hand and they would be safe. Moving into Potter Manor was the best decision they had ever made. Everyone was happy there. Remus, James and Sirius seemed to have reverted back into their teenage selves whilst in the manor and it made her laugh.

Now Hermione and the boys were watching Theo and Draco for the night. Lucius and Narcissa hadn't had any time to themselves since Lucius' release from Azkaban and Hermione decided to rectify that situation. Theo and Draco had been dropped off earlier that morning and they spent all day together.

They had a picnic for lunch in the spring weather by the lake that Hermione had found on the grounds and they spent the afternoon in the sun and splashing about in the lake. At dinner they ate in the living room on the third floor, since it was more comfortable and laid back than the formal living room opposite the dining room.

Later that night Harry, Draco and Theo had been bathed and dressed and they all wanted to stay with Hermione. Harry and Draco fell asleep before they were even put in her bed. Theo on the other hand seemed to be more difficult to get to sleep. Hermione sat down on one of her arm chairs and sat Theo on her lap with a book in hand and she read to him. Three children's books later and he was still awake.

"Okay, Teddy, why are you still awake?" she asked, turning the child around in her lap so that he faced her. He had a sad look on his face and Hermione looked at him sadly. She hated it when children were sad.

"What's wrong, Theo?" she asked softly.

"Mama" he said with tears gathering in his eyes. Hermione felt her heart break. She stood up and cradled him to her chest.

"One day you will understand how much your mother loved you. You'll know that your mother loved you so much that she took punishment to protect you. She loved you so much Theo, that she died to protect you" she whispered.

She started humming and singing in his ear softly and before she knew it, he had finally fallen asleep.

* * *

 **Potter Manor - Thursday 25th March 1982**

"Well someone's looking happy" Sirius commented as Narcissa and Lucius stepped out of the floo early the next morning.

She rolled her eyes. "If you don't stop with that train of thought I will give you a very descriptive explanation of exactly what happened last night"

Sirius went a little green and the others laughed at him.

"So, where are Remus, the children and Mia?" Lucius asked.

"Remus had a breakfast date" Sirius grinned and they chuckled.

"As for the others, follow me" James spoke and he made his way to the grand staircase, up to the second floor and he stopped in front of Hermione's room. He opened the door and everyone watched with quiet smiles at what they saw.

Hermione was asleep in the middle of her bed, with Theo asleep on her chest. Harry was on her left clutching at her and Draco was on her right clutching at her. They could hear the deep breathing and knew it would be a while until they woke up.

James closed the door and they made their way to the informal living room on the third floor.

The walls were a pale green with a light wooden floor. There were two large couches in white and two matching arm chairs, with a large glass coffee table. There were several portraits around the room, large bay windows with flowing white curtains and soft cushions to sit on.

"We're lucky to have her" James commented. "She must be the only person that can handle three almost two year olds by herself and without hassle"

"Why are they all sleeping in her bed?" Lucius asked curious.

They shrugged. "After they were bathed and dressed, they refused to leave her. They wanted to sleep in her room rather than Harry's"

"We heard last night she had a little bit of a struggle getting Theo to sleep, even after reading him three books. Harry and Draco were dead to the world before their heads even hit the pillows" James said. "Theo asked for his mother" Narcissa's face filled with sadness. "Hermione had him settled down within ten minutes and he fell asleep soon enough. There hasn't been a peep from her room since and we've already eaten breakfast"

"It's good that she can settle him, calm him. We've had difficulty getting him to sleep ourselves" Lucius said.

"It'll pass, one day he will realise who is important in his life and who his family is" James said and the others nodded and they changed the subject.

"There's two precautions left?" Narcissa spoke.

"Yes, there is. Mia wants to go for the Gaunt ring, she knows that it's somewhere in Little Hangleton. She's got plans set to go next week. She's been researching even more anti-tracking spells so that no one can follow her. She can't risk being seen by anyone" Sirius answered.

"We're almost there?" Lucius spoke.

"We're almost there" James confirmed. "Afterwards all that's left to do is the final show down with Voldemort. Kingsley's told us that The Order hasn't had any luck in tracking him down, but they may have a lead on Yaxley"

"I'm surprised it has taken this long to track him down, he's not a bright man" Lucius commented. The others nodded in agreement.

"So, Sirius, James, when do you plan to ask Mia for her hand?" Narcissa asked.

Sirius choked on the lung full of air he had taken and James stared.

"Bloody hell, Cissy" Sirius said and Lucius smirked at them.

"What? It's a valid question"

"We've only been dating for just over two months. What is it with you and marriage?"

"You've finally found a woman who is perfect for you" Narcissa said. "I've seen the way you look at her and the way she looks at you. She loves you, just as you love her" Sirius and James both shifted in their seats. "Molly's already planning the wedding"

"What?" James and Sirius spluttered.

Lucius laughed. "We all know you'll end up getting married. The sooner it's over, the sooner you can officially tell every male in the world, that she is not single and they would be foolish to try and make advances towards her"

"It's high time you make an honest woman of her. She'll do wonders for the House of Black, she can restore our house to what it used to be" Narcissa said.

"Make on honest woman of her? She'll hex you for even thinking about planning her future out for her" Sirius muttered. "Besides, she doesn't think she'll make it through this war. She's convinced she's going to die"

"She's not going to die" Narcissa sad forcefully.

"We all know it's a possibility. She will be the one to kill Voldemort. She is substituting herself for Harry, since the prophecy is about him. With her bond with him, they can use each other's wands as if they were made for them. She has to be the one to do it. Harry will be kept away from this and the reality is that she may die. Her Harry did" James said sadly.

"All the more reason to marry her now"

"Cissy, please" Sirius sighed.

"Fine" she huffed.

"What's with all the huffing?" they turned around to see Hermione walking into the room, all three children being levitated behind her and they were giggling and squealing happily.

They smiled at the sight.

"Nothing for you to worry about, Love" Sirius said, kissing her cheek as she sat down next to him on the couch and lowered the children onto the floor.

"Alright then" she shrugged.

Breakfast popped into the room, landing on the coffee table. As soon as Draco saw the waffles he squealed and clapped. Hermione put on the maple syrup and cut up the waffles, handing a fork to each child and they started eating.

"Wow" Narcissa said in shock. "You weren't kidding about the waffles" she muttered as she watched her son devour the waffles like he was a starving man and they laughed as he grinned and maple syrup dripped down his chin.

* * *

 **Potter Manor - Saturday 27th March 1982**

"Happy Birthday!" the room chorused as James stepped into it and he jumped and laughed. The room was filled with Weasleys, Malfoys, Sirius, Hermione, Remus, Harry, Kingsley and the Prewett twins.

"You didn't have to do this"

"Shut up" Sirius, Remus and Hermione said in unison and they laughed at them. James walked further into the room and greeted everyone, before taking his place at the dining room table.

Food appeared on the table and everyone tucked in. It was all of James' favourite foods and desserts and Hermione made him a three tier chocolate birthday cake.

After the food was eaten, James opened his presents and thanked everyone, they stayed for a couple more hours until it was late and they returned home. Sirius and Remus were in their rooms and Harry was asleep in his room.

Hermione headed to James' room. She knocked on the door and entered when he called out. She closed the door behind her and looked around. His room was very similar to hers, only bigger and his room was decorated in chocolate brown and white. He had a brown carpet instead of a white one, he had two couches instead of arm chairs and he had five doors leading to different rooms, where she had four.

"Hey" he said softly, looking up from his book.

"Hey" she replied, he was dressed in his grey pajama bottoms and shirtless. Hermione had gotten used to seeing the boys walking around shirtless, well, except Remus, he was always dressed.

James smiled as he looked her over. She was wearing a simple pair of white cotton shorts and a white spaghetti strap top and her hair was shoved up in a messy bun.

"I have something for you" she gestured to the box in her hand and made her way over to him. He pulled her onto the bed and she sat next to him.

"You already gave me a gift, quidditch tickets remember?" he said amused.

"Well I have something else" she handed him the box and he looked at her, before ripping off the red and gold paper like a child at Christmas and she laughed.

"Merlin" he whispered in shock and he looked at her. "How did you get this?"

She smiled at him as he gestured to the box that contained the first ever edition of Quidditch Law, published in 1256. "I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill you"

"Did you steal it?"

"No" she snorted. "It would've been a lot cheaper if I did"

"I can't accept this"

"Shut up, before I permanently stick it to you" he chuckled at her and leaned over to kiss her.

"Thank you, it's the best gift I have ever gotten" he said when he pulled away.

"Don't let Sirius and Harry hear you say that" he chuckled. "I wanted to show you something as well, something I haven't shown anyone" he put the lid back on the box and put it on the bedside table.

"Okay" Hermione conjured Harry's photo album from her room and she held it in her hands. "What is it?"

"It's Harry's" his face immediately softened and he watched as she delicately ran her fingers over the leather cover. "He gave it to me to protect, this was his most treasured item he owned, other than his cloak"

"What is it?" he asked putting his arm around her. She moved it so that it rested on the bed in front of them both and she opened it to reveal a picture of Lily, James and Harry. He gasped in surprise.

"It's Harry photo album. He didn't have any photos of either you or Lily; Hagrid gave this to him the end of our first year. There are a few of you and Lily then it suddenly jumps to our first year and ends after the Battle of the Seven Potters" James stared at the picture. "I'll leave you alone for a little while so you can look through it" she made to leave but he gripped her tighter and pulled her closer into his side.

"No, I want you to stay, I need you to explain what happened in each photo after all" he said softly, still staring at the photo. She slowly nodded.

Together they made their way through the photo album, until they reached the final photo.

James laughed as Hermione was thrown into the lake by a laughing Harry.

"What happened here?" he asked her.

"It was after the Battle of the Seven Potters. Two days after Moody's death and George lost his ear. Harry and I needed some space from the others; we could feel each other's sadness and stress. This was one of the only times he laughed, and I mean full on wet yourself laugh" he chuckled at her. "Harry didn't laugh much, but when he did it was either fake or a small chuckle, but this was the best sound I had ever heard. That's why I didn't hex him for throwing me in the lake. This was the last time Harry ever laughed" she ran her fingers gently over the moving photo.

"Thank you for sharing this with me"

"It's as much yours as it is mine"

"He gave it to _you_ to protect, it's yours. We'll start another album. This time it will contain everyone and have many, many more happy memories" she nodded slowly and closed the photo album, putting it on the bed side table.

"Have you decided when you're going to Little Hangleton?" he asked her.

"I'm going on Friday, I'll have to be careful; nobody knows where Voldemort is. I'm betting he's still in England. Harry was his downfall and he knows that I tried to protect him. I wouldn't be surprised if he's having us followed as well. If he is and I'm followed to Little Hangleton, he'll know what I'm doing. By then they'll only be one Horcrux left and even he doesn't know about it, but he'll panic and look for his others to find they're missing"

"He doesn't know his final Horcrux? How is that possible?" James asked perplexed.

"He created it by accident; he didn't carry out the ritual because it wasn't intended to be a Horcrux"

"That's possible?"

"It is"

"So what are you going to do?"

"I found a spell that will replicate my magical signature for a few hours. It'll give Dumbledore's men something to chase, but lead them to nothing. I'll take the knight bus since it can't be traced and it'll get me there quicker. Afterwards I will turn into my fox and make my way around Little Hangleton until I find something useful. Do you still have the invisibility cloak?"

"Yeah, it's here. I left it at the manor for safe keeping. It's in my closet"

"Can I borrow it?"

"You don't even need to ask Mia" he said softly and pushing a wayward curl behind her ear.

"The trouble we got up to with that thing" she said with a sad smile.

He hated when she was sad. He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss against her lips, as he went to pull away she wrapped her arms around his neck to keep him close to her and she deepened the kiss, slipping her tongue into his mouth.

She fell backwards, pulling him down onto her and she moaned and his hands found their way into her hair, pulling the bobble out and he continued to run his hands through the mass of curls.

She ran her hands over his bare shoulders and she felt his muscles twitch and she smiled as he shivered. Her hands trailed down his back and around to his chest and she scratched her nails over his stomach and he bucked his hips and she giggled at him. He pulled away and playfully scowled at her but it quickly turned into a smile and then a groan when she placed soft kisses against his neck, dragged her teeth over his jaw and tugged at his ear lobe.

"You are evil" he groaned and she laughed again. She pushed him away slightly and grabbed her wand, casting a silencing charm to stop certain people with advanced hearing, listening in to anything and then she dropped her wand and went back to kissing James.

She rolled them over and straddled him. His hands moved to her hips and he gripped them tightly. Hermione pulled away from him, breathing heavily.

"Tell me, James" she purred and his eyes widened and he gulped. "Have you and Sirius talked about what would happen when it came to sex?"

"Not in specific detail" he admitted as she stared at him with a heated look, making his skin feel like it was burning. "Just that if happens, it happens. No hard feelings. That's part of being a triad"

"Hmm?" she hummed. "What about all of us together?" his eyes widened further.

"We haven't really spoken about it, but we assumed it may happen" he gulped as she stared at him with a smirk. "Have you thought about it?"

She leaned down and started nibbling at his neck and she hummed in response and he breathed out slowly.

"All of us?" she bit his shoulder gently and he gripped her hips tighter and she rolled them over his growing erection and he let out a loud groan. She hummed in response. "You're killing me" he gasped out.

"Nope, just riling you up" she chuckled against his neck. He let out a whine as she moved over his erection once more and she sucked his ear lobe into her mouth. She smirked and decided to throw him a bone. She sat up, crossed her arms and pulled her top over her head and threw it to the floor.

His eyes widened as he stared at her breasts heaving and covered by dark purple lace. His eyes then trailed down her taut stomach and he saw several scars. The most alarming was one that started above her right breast, went diagonally down her chest, under her left breast and ended just before her left hip.

"What happened?" his finger traced the scar making her shiver.

"Dolohov, fifth year" she answered him. He looked up to see her watching him slightly fearfully.

"You're beautiful" he said softly. His hand moved to her cheek and he ran his thumb over it and she leaned into his touch. "Scars and all" he whispered, sitting up bringing them face to face. "My little warrior" she gave a small sad smile. "I would say I'm sorry that this happened to you but I'm not, it's what made you who you are now. You are strong, you are beautiful, you are powerful, you are loving and caring, you are selfless, you are fearless and you are a survivor"

Her chocolate brown eyes shined brightly.

"Can I tell you something?" she asked.

"You can always talk to me"

"I think I'm falling for you" she whispered.

He started at her before a smile broke out on his face.

"That's good, I'm pretty sure I'm falling for you too" she smiled at him and leaned forward and kissed him.

She pushed him down onto his back and his hands trailed up her sides and across her back and stomach, leaving goose bumps. When his hands reached the clasp of her bra he paused until she rolled her hips against him and he groaned. He deftly unclasped her bra and pulled the fabric away from her. His hands found her breasts and he gently cupped and squeezed and she moaned into his mouth and ground against him harder.

He flipped them over and pushed her into the mattress. She trailed her hands down to his hips and pushed his pajama bottoms down, using her feet to push them down further. He pulled away from her to kick them off and went to kissing her neck and his hands continued paying attention to her breasts.

She slipped her hand into his boxer briefs and wrapped her hand around his length. He cursed in surprise as she started pumping her hand slowly over him. After a few minutes, he pulled her hand away from him, sat up and pulled her shorts off her. He stared in surprise as she wasn't wearing underwear.

"What?" she asked worriedly and panting.

"You're not wearing underwear" he got out, staring at her wet, glistening folds.

"I don't usually wear underwear to bed unless I have to, they're uncomfortable" she replied and he groaned.

He ran a finger down her slit and she gasped and bucked her hips. He smirked at her and she scowled. He bent down, wanting to taste her and she quickly caught onto what he was doing.

She grabbed him and pulled him up her. He looked put out and she kissed his pouting lips.

"Next time, I'm too impatient right now" he grinned and agreed.

He went back to kissing her and she pushed his underwear as far down as she could and he pushed them off the rest of the way, hovering over her.

"We don't have to do this now" he said to her softly.

"You don't want to?" she asked. He looked down at his painfully hard erection and back up at her with a raised eyebrow and she laughed at him. "No, I want this, I want you"

He smiled down at her. He took one of her hands, kissed her palm and then slipped his fingers through hers and held her hand above her head. With his other hand he guided himself into her. She gasped and arched her back, it had been almost two years since she had last had sex and he needed to get used to the feeling again too.

James had come to the same conclusion and didn't move. He took her other hand in his, laced their fingers together and held it above her head with her other hand. He took deep breaths, keeping himself in control with his head buried in her neck. It had almost been two years since he last had sex and he couldn't remember feeling anything better. She was tight, warm and soft, like silk, and he fit inside her perfectly as her walls accommodated his size.

When she moved her hips, he groaned and got the message. He pulled back and slipped into her slowly, setting a slow and steady rhythm, with deep purposeful thrusts. He leaned down and caught her mouth with his and kissed her languidly, his tongue mimicking the actions of what their lower halves were doing.

He shifted slightly, changing the angle and she gasped and gripped his hands tightly. Her breathing sped up and her moans became louder. He pulled away from and he and looked down at her. Her face down to her breasts had flushed pink, she was panting, sweat forming and her eyes as they stared into his were shining brightly. He had never seen anything more beautiful.

She begged his to move faster, harder, but he wouldn't. He would draw it out until she couldn't resist it anymore. She lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist, sending his thrusts deeper and they both let out noises of approval. He could feel her grip on his hands tighten every few seconds, her moans grew louder and he could feel her walls beginning to flutter around him and he knew she was close, thankfully, because so was he.

He nipped at her neck until he found a particular spot behind her ear lobe that seemed to affect her more than any other part of her skin.

"How long's it been, Mia?" he panted against her ear, his breath tickling her and sending shivers down her spine. "How long's it been since someone made you feel like this?" she purposefully clenched her walls around him and he groaned and cursed. "Let go for me, my little witch" he whispered.

Not a second later, she gasped loudly, arched her back pressing her chest against his, her eyes squeezed shut, her grip on his hand became painful and she cried out his name as wave after wave of pleasure hit her.

James watched her mesmerised, and the shock of her walls clamping around him so tightly, brought him to his completion. He groaned out her name and bit her shoulder, not hard enough to hurt, but he left teeth marks. They both lay there panting for a short while, getting their breathing under control.

James lifted his head to look up at her, when their eyes met they smiled widely at each other and laughed. He leaned down and kissed her before rolling off to the side, pulling her into him so she had her head on his chest, an arm over his waist, a leg between his and his arm around her waist and he pulled the blanket over them.

They lay in silence for a few minutes, with happy sated smiles on their faces, she traced patterns on his chest and he ran his hand over her arm and side gently.

She looked up at him.

"Do you regret it?" she asked quietly.

He looked down at her and immediately knew what she meant. "No, I don't regret it. It was amazing, you are amazing" he kissed her forehead.

"Was it worth the risk?"

"Yes" he answered honestly. "I don't feel like I've betrayed her. That means that I have moved on completely. I will always love her, but now I have you" he looked at her with a smile. "I am yours and you are mine"

"And Sirius'" she injected and he chuckled.

"And Sirius'" he agreed.

"Does this mean that you're Sirius' too?" she cheeked. He laughed at her.

"No, I am yours, completely yours"

"I think I'm falling for you" she said softly.

"I think I'm falling for you too" he replied with a smile and she smiled at him, kissed him and snuggled into him as sleep over took her.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: Little Hangleton**

* * *

AN: Andree 07 - I plan to have this fanfic end around 27 or 28 chapters. So you won't have to wait long for your answers. I promise.

* * *

 **Potter Manor - Sunday 28th March 1982**

"Can we talk to you?" Hermione asked Sirius as they were about to leave the dining table after eating breakfast. He raised an eyebrow, Remus took Harry to get dressed and they made their way to the sitting room.

"What did you need to talk about?" he asked as they took their seats. Sirius sat on one couch and Hermione and James sat on the other.

"Well" Hermione cleared her throat nervously. Sirius smirked at her.

"You and James had sex last night" he said. She choked on the lung full off air she took and James shot Sirius an annoyed look as he patted her back.

"What?" she gasped out.

"You and James had sex last night" he said with a smug look on his face.

"How?" she asked him dumbly, but he knew what she was asking.

"A number of ways. One, I heard you in his room before a silencing charm was suddenly put up. Two, I didn't hear you leave his room last night. Three, you left his room this morning. Four, you two have been acting differently, I noticed it at breakfast. And finally, you smell like sex and I can smell him all of over you" he said looking at her. "And I can smell her all over you" he finished looking at James.

Hermione fidgeted in her seat and bit her lip nervously. "Are you mad?" she asked quietly and looking down at the floor, when he snorted her eyes shot up to him.

"Don't be daft; of course I'm not mad. He's your boyfriend"

"You're my boyfriend too"

"And that's why I'm not mad. This is a triad relationship, Mia. Things work differently to how they would in a normal relationship. I'm actually a little surprised"

"Why?" she asked with a frown.

"Prongs had sex with you before me. It took him seven years to get a date with a girl"

"Shut up" James grumbled and he sat back with his arms crossed over his chest and pouting.

"And it was amazing sex" Hermione glared at Sirius.

"Really? Amazing?" Sirius asked, sitting forward and James entire face was filled with smugness. "Do tell"

"No" Hermione said and Sirius frowned. She stood up and walked out of the room.

"Amazing?"

"Amazing" James confirmed with a grin.

"I'll have to step up my game"

"Yes, you will"

* * *

 **Potter Manor - Wednesday 31st March 1982**

It was two days before Hermione would be leaving the manor in search for the Gaunt ring. She had spent every day since Sunday in her library going over spells, notes and finalising plans. She hadn't spent as much time as she would've liked to with James, but she knew he understood, they definitely hadn't had sex again, because she barely took time away to eat.

Hermione had just finished browsing through the library and was heading back to her bedroom because it was late. As she passed Sirius' room an arm reached out and grabbed her, dragging her through the door and pulling her into a chest and the door shut behind her.

She laughed into Sirius' chest and he chuckled into her ear. That was the tenth time since Sunday he had cornered her in a room and each time she left him spluttering, annoyed and frustrated.

"Is there something I can do for you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

He smirked at her. "Definitely, but there's something I can do for you too" he breathed into her ear and she couldn't help the shiver that ran through her.

"Really?" she said breathlessly.

Sirius chuckled at her and he started placing kisses against her neck. She subconsciously moved her head to give him better access and she felt him smirk against her skin. The smirk only widened when he found her weak spot behind her ear lobe and she gasped and gripped his t-shirt tightly in her hands.

After he pulled a few whimpers from her, Hermione decided to turn the tables. She pushed against him, forcing him to walk backwards. When his legs hit the bed she pushed on his chest and he fell backwards. He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow and she smiled innocently.

She straddled his lap and before he could speak, she leaned down and kissed him. His hands gripped her hips tightly and she could feel his erection hardening beneath her. She pushed her hips down and smirked when he let out a groan and gripped her hips tighter.

She continued to grind herself against him and when he pulled away from her panting, with a heated gaze that could melt steel, she climbed off him and stalked out of the room, putting a deliberate sway in her hips.

"You're an evil woman" she heard Sirius call out as she walked to her bedroom and she laughed to herself.

* * *

Later that night she woke screaming and crying from a nightmare. She could feel soft fur against her and she could hear whining. She didn't know how he knew, but he always did.

She turned to face the large black dog, laying down behind her. When her water filled eyes met his large black ones, he knew what she wanted. Padfoot quickly became Sirius and he reached his hand out and wiped away the fallen tears.

She sniffled and moved so that her head was leaning on his chest and he wrapped an arm around her and kissed her forehead.

"Will you tell me what happened?"

"Bellatrix"

"Is it always her?" his grip tightened on her.

"No. Sometimes I see Harry dying. Sometimes I see Percy and Fred dying. Sometimes it's Remus. Sometimes it's you"

"You are never going to see that again. Everyone will live, I know they will. I have faith in you and you have prepared us well for what is to come" he said quietly. "Soon enough your nightmares will become a distant memory and you will sleep, knowing that you have protected everyone from the life you had to live. You have Remus, Harry, James and you have me. We will not let anything happen to you, to anyone. We will pull you away from the darkness and keep you afloat"

"Thank you"

"You don't have to thank me, Love"

"But I do, I have to thank you for just being you" she was tracing patterns on his chest with her finger. "You always know, I don't know how but you always do. You always have your guard up, even when around the Weasley's and Malfoys, your family. Your guard is severely lowered when around Remus and James, but I can still see it. When you're around me though it's different. I see parts of you that others don't even know exist. Like this, you comforting me after a nightmare. Even when I put silencing charms up you are always waiting. You let me see the softer side of you, the side that just likes cuddling and sitting in silence. The side were you don't have to pretend to be the womanizer you're known for being. I seriously doubt if you've even slept with that many women, or if it was just rumours and for the sake of things you went along with them. I see the side of you that hates the smell of brown sauce. That's grumpy if you are woken before ten in the morning. That secretly loves my Disney story books, yes I know about that" she spoke softly when his eyes widened. "These are things that you hide away from people and you shouldn't. These things are what make you who you are. I love these things about you" she felt him breath out deeply and he gripped her tighter. "Do you know what, Sirius?"

"What?" he spoke quietly, all most broken.

"I think I'm almost in love with you"

He stopped breathing. "I've never really had someone tell me they loved me before" he spoke at barely a whisper.

She moved her body closer to his and hugged him tightly.

"Technically I told you I'm almost in love with you"

"Never had someone tell me that either"

"Well I mean it"

"You would never lie to me" he stated softly.

"No, I wouldn't. Well, unless you asked me how your bum looked in a set of robes, to which I would reply 'big'" he chuckled at her.

"I think I'm almost in love you with" he confessed in a whisper after a short while of silence.

"I've never had someone tell me they were in love with me"

"Technically I said I'm almost in love with you" he replied with her words from earlier. He felt her cheeks pull up into a smile against his chest.

She looked up at him with a soft smile on her face and she could see the fear in his eyes.

"I would never hurt you, Sirius" he raised an eyebrow at her, but fear still shone in his eyes. "I would never hurt you without my wand, a pillow or by pushing you off the couch" she amended.

"What about the time you threw a carrot at me?"

"That was a cucumber"

"No, it was carrot; you threw a cucumber at me the week after"

"Oh, add it to the list" he chuckled at her. "My point is I will never hurt you emotionally or mentally, physically is still on the table"

He chuckled. "You don't have it in you" he said quietly.

They laid in silence for a while and he could tell Hermione was drifting off back into sleep.

"Will you stay?" she mumbled. He nodded and tried to sit up so he could change back into Padfoot, but she stopped him. "No, I want you Sirius, not Padfoot" he got more comfortable and his grip tightened on her before they both fell asleep.

* * *

Sirius opened his eyes when he heard the door opening. James entered the room and closed the door behind him and he grinned at Sirius.

"What are you grinning about? We didn't have sex" he muttered.

"I know, I can smell you all over her, but not in that way, besides, if you had sex with her you would've told me and the room would smell"

"So why are you grinning?" he mumbled with his eyes closed.

"You slept with her in your human form. You have never shared your bed with anyone, let alone a woman, especially never just for sleeping and comfort"

"She's Mia, she's different"

"She is, and she's ours"

Sirius felt the mattress shift and he opened an eye to see James lying down behind Hermione. He put an arm around her stomach with his chest to her back and Hermione still had her head on Sirius' chest. In her sleep Hermione moved her hand to lace her fingers through James' and she sighed.

"This is what it means to be a triad" whispered James as he fell asleep.

* * *

 **Little Hangleton - Friday 2nd April 1982**

Hermione had completed all of her precautions and climbed off the knight bus in Little Hangleton. It was dark out and she ducked behind some trees and turned into her fox, before she headed down the pathway, passing by many houses of various sizes. She could see something in the distance, a large silhouette. As she grew closer she saw it to be a large manor. She walked forward and stopped at the large iron gates and she read the plaque on the gates. 'Riddle' it said.

Seems as though she had found Voldemort's father's manor. No wonder he hated the man so much. He had disowned his child and held such malice against him for something he had no control of. It was due to his father that Voldemort had to grow up in a muggle orphanage, especially when he didn't have to and he was denied the wealth his family clearly possessed, just looking at the old and abandoned manor, Hermione could tell that was the case.

She turned away from the manor, Voldemort hated his muggle family more than anything, he would never hide something as precious as a Horcrux in the property of his father. She wandered back down the path until she spotted something small in the distance. She walked closer to see it was a hill. She walked up the hill and sat down, looking below her she saw a small cottage. Curiosity got the better of her and she wandered forward.

The cottage was barely even that. The door had fallen off, half of the cottage's foundations had been destroyed, the roof had rotted and was barely there and she could smell a combination that created something truly awful and horrific to her enhanced sense.

She walked forward, stepping up the wooden steps that almost collapsed under her weight and she put her head into the building and looked around. From what she could see, the room was void of anything but dust and broken wooden floorboards. She was about to walk away when something caught her attention. On the wall there was a symbol, but when she focused on it she noticed that it wasn't a symbol, but a family crest. The most important part of the crest was that of a basilisk, and Hermione would recognise a basilisk anywhere. There was a large 'G' in the basilisks open mouth.

Hermione froze; she was practically standing in the home of Morfin Gaunt. And that's when she realised, Voldemort was proud to be related to Slytherin. He was proud that he had bested his mother's family. He was proud to be able to steal the Gaunt ring, so the one place he would hide it would be the place that no one would think to look, and that would be a very unstable and destroyed building belonging to the Gaunts.

The fox looked behind her before turning back into Hermione. She put her hand in her beaded bag and pulled out the invisibility cloak and her wand. She pulled the cloak over her and entered the building. She looked around to see the room empty as she suspected, she guessed she was stood in the living room. The room was littered with decaying wooden floorboards and pieces of the roof. She looked up to see the floor above had several holes in, were the roof had crashed through leaving debris scatted across the floor. She stepped over the debris and moved to the room on the right revealing a small room that she believed to have once been the kitchen. She made her way back to the living room and headed for the stairs.

They were in even worse condition than the rest of the house and doubted they could take her weight, but she was a Gryffindor and decided to brave it. Carefully she stepped onto the first step, nothing happened and she breathed and took another step with the same results. She made it halfway up the stair case when she heard a creaking but she continued with her ascent. She was five steps from reaching the last step when there was a creaking and the stairs below her collapsed in on themselves and crashed to the floor. The rest of the stair case was unstable and started to crumble. Hermione cursed and bolted up the remaining steps, just as she reached the landing, the rest of the stairs collapsed and with a loud crash it hit the floor below. She sighed in relief and took notice of the three doors.

She looked through each room the doors led to, a bathroom with only a broken toilet and sink remaining and two empty bedrooms. The place was empty. She sighed in annoyance and made her way back to the stairs. She had to figure out a way of getting back down without hurting herself in the process. She thought hard until inspiration hit her. She found an old piece of metal piping, she had no idea what it used to be but it would do for its purpose.

She enlarged it and levitated it to the ground, making sure to use a sticking charm to keep it in place. She then made sure the cloak was secure around her before she reached forward and slid down the pole like a child would at the park. She smiled to herself when her feet safely touched the ground.

She then went to leave the building when something strange hit her. A feeling of magic. Like one would feel when being around a powerful magical object, such as a three hundred year old cursed necklace, or the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem, Salazar Slytherin's locket and Helga Hufflepuff's cup. She had come into contact with all of them and she was getting the same feeling that she did when she was around them now.

She turned away from the door and frowned. She had searched every room. There were no drawers or cupboards to look through; there was no furniture to look under and there were no paintings to look behind or ask for help, not that she would and not that they would help her.

The entire building was empty. She sighed in annoyance; she couldn't ignore the feeling of powerful magic being in her presence.

The only thing she could do was follow the feeling. She walked across the room slowly, the further into the room she got, the stronger the feeling got. She could feel her magic buzzing inside of her. She knelt down in front of the large and broken fireplace that she imagined to have once been beautiful when lit in the winter. When her hand touched the floor she pulled it away with a shriek and held it protectively to her chest.

She had gotten a very strong shock and she frowned at the floor as she rubbed the feeling back into her now numb hand. Slowly she lowered her hand and as she did, she could feel magic crackling beneath her.

There was a crooked floorboard beneath her hand and she stared at it in thought. Without thinking she brought her wand up and pointed it to the wood. "Wingardium Leviosa" she spoke, the floorboard lifted from the floor and she moved it aside to reveal a small wooden box, hidden. Her eyes widened.

She carefully lifted the box and winced when she got another electric shock. Surprisingly it opened without a hindrance to reveal a ring. She didn't dare touch it after what happened when she touched the box. But she did lift it closer to her face for a better look. It was a gold band with a black pyramid shaped stone, in the centre of the stone she could see a symbol and she squinted before her eyes widened. A triangle, a circle and a line. She would recognise that symbol anywhere; she had been studying it for the past few months. And that confirmed her suspicions about how Dumbledore was able to give Harry the resurrection stone. The stone in the centre of the ring was the resurrection stone and she had a feeling she would need it in the future. She shut the box and put it in her beaded bag before leaving the house. She looked around, removed the robe and put it into her bag and then turned back into her animagus form and she headed back towards the cover of the trees, unknown to her she was being watched.

* * *

 **Malfoy Manor**

She walked straight through the wards of the manor and headed straight to the room where she knew everyone would be and she was right. Remus, Harry, James and Sirius were waiting for her, along with Draco, Narcissa, Lucius and Theo. The three toddlers greeted her with squeals of joy and she smiled and greeted them in return, much to the amusement of the adults.

"Did you find it; you've been gone for four hours?" Remus said.

"I found it, it took me a while, but I found it hidden under the floorboards of the abandoned home of Morfin Gaunt"

"I have to admit that's pretty cool" Sirius muttered and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"How did you even think to look there?" Lucius asked intrigued.

She shrugged. "At first I didn't, I searched the entire building, which by the way was empty of nothing but dust, decaying wood and roofing. I was about to leave when I felt something, some form of powerful magic. I had felt this magic before, when I was in close proximity to Voldemort's other precautions. I followed it and when I knelt down, I got an electric shock. It took me a while to think of removing the floorboard and when I did I found the box and it contained the ring"

"Shall we do it now?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, I want it gone" Hermione replied. Lucius apparated them both to the stables.

"This one will take me some time, there is something I have to do first" they looked at her curiously but didn't say anything. She walked further forward and sat down on the floor, pulling out the box which she opened and placed it in front of her.

She took out her wand and pointed it at the ring. "Lapidem" she spoke. The ring glowed a bright green before the stone flew into the air, leaving the ring. She caught it and quickly wrapped it up in a piece of old parchment she found in her bag and she put it in her bag. She then stood and proceeded to destroy the Horcrux.

"What did she just do?" Lucius asked Sirius, as they watched Hermione focus on controlling the spell.

"No idea, I'm not sure I even want to know" he replied. "Whatever she did, it was for a good reason, who are we to doubt her after everything?" Hermione collapsed and Sirius rushed forward and caught her before she hit the ground.

"That's it Mia, one left" Sirius whispered and he pushed her hair away from her face and looked down at her adoringly.

"One left?" Lucius asked hopefully.

Sirius looked up at him. "One left" he confirmed. "And that just leaves the bastard himself"


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Confrontations**

* * *

AN: VoiletBuckbeak – She hasn't destroyed the stone and Hermione isn't the final Horcrux, I'm sticking with Harry for that. That's their relationship, teasing and light, but serious -pun intended- and loving. The same for James, but don't worry; they'll be no more teasing from now on.

Andree 07 – All will be revealed soon.

* * *

 **Potter Manor - Tuesday 6th April 1982**

Hermione had woken from her magical exhaustion earlier that day. She had attended dinner, spent some time with everyone and now she had just stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself and she headed into her bedroom. She jumped when she saw Sirius sitting on the bed waiting for her, dressed in only a pair of pajama bottoms.

"Bloody hell, Sirius, you scared the hell out of me" she said glaring at him and trying to slow down her heart rate. He smirked at her and then his eyes travelled down her towel clad form and she huffed at him and walked over to her vanity and sat down. With a flick of her wand her hair was dry and she grabbed her hair brush.

"Why did you take that stone from the ring before you destroyed it?"

Hermione froze. "You saw that?"

"I did, so why did you take it?" she sighed and turned to face him. "You're keeping something from us"

"Only because I haven't completely figured it out yet, but I think I'm right"

"About what?"

"I don't want to tell you yet, not until I have what I need and my suspicions are confirmed"

"Mia..."

"Sirius, please, I will tell you when the time is right. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up" he sighed and dropped the subject.

"Fine, what are we going to do about Dumbledore, it's been weeks since your attack"

"We're not going to do anything"

"What?" he growled.

"I said we are not going to do anything"

"But..."

"No, Sirius. Dumbledore will get what's coming to him soon enough, but I still need him. He has something that I need, something that will help destroy Voldemort and I can't get it yet, but I will figure out a plan soon enough"

"You're not going to tell me?" he pouted.

"No" he huffed.

"Last thing that we need to discuss, we never got around to it. Kreacher calling you a half-blood"

"Yeah, that confused me as well. It's not the first time someone's said that to me, Fenrir Greyback mentioned it as well when we were taken to Malfoy Manor. I've been thinking, what if it has something to do with the binding spell"

"To Harry? How would that affect your status?"

"Take his life and meld it with mine, so that we may share a blood line"

"That's a line from the ritual" Sirius commented and Hermione nodded.

"We can't actually share blood, even magic can't change DNA and blood. But what if by binding me to Harry, it brought me as close as possible. In a way we share magic since we can use each other's wand. Harry is a half blood..."

"And the closest to being to Harry would be changing your status as well, since Harry is a half-blood the binding made you a half-blood"

"It's the only reasoning I can come up with" she shrugged and he nodded in agreement.

He then looked her over again, trailing his eyes over her dainty feet, her long, smooth legs, up to her shoulders and neck, before locking his lust filled eyes with hers and hers widened.

He stood up and stalked over to her, she stood instinctively and stepped around him and gulped at the heated look he was sending her. When he stepped forward, she stepped back, until her legs hit the bed and she fell, landing on it. Sirius smirked at her and she shuffled backwards on the bed as Sirius climbed on.

Before she could so much as blink, Sirius had lunged forward. Sending her flying onto her back and his mouth crashed against hers. They kissed passionately and they both knew this was it. There was no going back like the other times Hermione had pulled away from him.

Her hands gripped his hair and pulled harshly, he growled and she moaned when he pushed his hips against hers. His hands trailed up her smooth legs, over her hips which he gripped tightly before they moved up over her sides, over the swell of her breasts and he found the edge of the towel and pulled it, the towel falling open, baring her naked body to his sight. He pulled back from the intense kiss panting and he looked down her body, head to toe and back again several times and he groaned when she bit her lip.

"Fuck, you're perfect" he all but growled before he crashed his mouth against hers, his hands trailing her body.

When he pulled his mouth away from hers, he moved to her neck, finding the spot behind her ear that made her whimper and he pushed his hips against hers. His erection bulging in his bottoms and pressing against her uncovered mound, and he could feel the heat and wetness seep into his bottoms and he growled once more, pushing harder against her and she whimpered and pushed back against him, searching for the friction she craved.

His hands trailed down her moist folds and she groaned and when he found her nub she let out a breathless moan. If Sirius wasn't as experienced and he was, it probably would've been his undoing.

"Sirius, just get on with it" Hermione panted and she gasped as his mouth closed around her right nipple and he slipped a finger into her and she arched her back.

She found her wand next to her on the bed and she muttered a spell, making Sirius's clothes disappear, just as he pushed his hips against hers and they both gasped loudly. "Fuck me already" she cried in frustration. Sirius pulled back in shock at her words.

"Oh Mia" he whispered against her ear. "I'm not going to fuck you"

"You're not?" she asked, clearly disappointed.

"No, you're different, you're mine, and for that you will be treated differently" he whispered and kissed her sweetly. "At least for our first time" he kissed her, this time languidly, but equally just as passionate.

When her hand snaked down between them to grip him he hissed against her mouth as she moved her hand over him and he continued to work her over, as they stared at each other. When it became too much for both of them he finally gave into her pleas and with one slow thrust, he entered her.

She gasped and arched into him and he groaned and bit down on her shoulder gently. He moved slowly, taking his time to learn her responses, to worship her body. Every scar, ever blemish and every freckle. Something he had never done before. But then again, he had never loved anyone before, no one but Mia. She was the light to his dark, the glare to his cheeky smile. The slap to the back of his head to his prank on the unsuspecting Lucius Malfoy. He loved her; he had a hard time expressing his feelings so he would do it this way, taking his time to learn her. His actions would speak for him.

When she wrapped her legs around his waist and he was able to move deeper, they both let out noises of appreciation.

"You're so beautiful" he whispered into her ear as she clung to him. "So tight, so wet, so warm, so mine" she groaned.

"And James'" she gasped out.

"And James'" he agreed.

When he found that spot inside of her after changing the angle of his thrusts, she flung her head back and let out a moan that vibrated down his spine.

Her eyes screwed shut and her grip on him tightened, her fluttering walls clamped around him and pulled him into her deeper as her orgasm flooded through her. He had never seen anything more beautiful. That was until he was distracted by her nails raking down his back and he released inside of her. He wouldn't be surprised if she drew blood, not that he was complaining. He collapsed but held himself above her on his elbows.

"You are amazing"

"You're not so bad yourself" she replied with a sated smile as she ran her fingers down his face and he leaned into her touch.

* * *

 **Unknown Location**

Later that night a meeting at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters had just ended. McGonagall, Dumbledore and Moody were the only ones left in the meeting room.

"Albus?" McGonagall said.

"Yes, Minerva" he replied.

She fixed her eyes on him, watching him for any tells. She had wanted to bring up Hermione's attack with Dumbledore since the night she visited at the hospital and since then she had been working up the courage to speak to Dumbledore about it. Weeks later, tonight was the night.

"The night Miss Granger was attacked by Death Eaters I visited her"

Moody's attention snapped to her and he watched her carefully.

"Why would you do that Minerva?" Dumbledore asked her carefully, but she saw something in his eyes.

"Well, I was under the impression that there were no Death Eaters left in Britain, let alone England, and suddenly three turn up out of the blue and attack Miss Granger, who they should know nothing about" Moody was looking between the two of them, he was a paranoid old bastard, but even he had to admit that was definitely suspicious. "I wished to visit and ask her for information regarding the attack, since the auror department will not allow me to read the official report. I was hoping she could divulge something that would help us track the Death Eaters, if they returned to where they came from, maybe they would lead us to the remaining fugitives"

"Did Miss Granger have any vital information that will aid in the tracking of Death Eaters? Maybe who they were?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'm afraid not, she couldn't recognise any identifying marks or features with the robes and masks and two of them didn't interact with her, just stood guard, however" she paused and looked at him watching for his reaction. "She did recall that the Death Eater that attacked her used a voice changing spell and had the same colour eyes as you, even the same height, and she noticed a silver beard and hair escaping from under the robes" she was bluffing at this point, but she needed to see his reaction.

And there it was. A slight widen of the eyes and panic and fear flashed across his face for a second before it disappeared. Anyone else would've missed it, but she knew Albus Dumbledore very well and she had been around him for many years, he was even once her Professor, she knew him better than anyone and his reaction all but proved his guilt and she felt shame fill her for not noticing sooner.

"What are you suggesting Minerva? That it was I?"

"No, don't be ridiculous Albus" she said with a passive face. "I was merely informing you that glamour charms had been used, so we may never know the identity of her attackers, this leads me to believe that we either still have Death Eaters in hiding in England or it was someone else wanting to gain information from Miss Granger under the ruse of a Death Eater attack. It's a shame we can't track them" she said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's a school night and I have patrols to do of the castle grounds" she bid them a good night and left the room.

She headed out of the building and towards the apparition point. Just before she apparated she was stopped by Moody.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" his gravelly voice spoke.

"What do you mean, Alastor?"

"Questioning Dumbledore"

"Surely someone as vigilant as yourself can work out that Albus is keeping things from us" she said. "As I said before, Miss Granger is not known to the Death Eaters, what would they have to question her on? Why would they specifically break into her apartment at a time when she was alone? Did you know that she was alone, Alastor? Curious, don't you think? That the moment Messrs Black, Lupin and Potter leave Miss Granger unattended, she is attacked. Don't you have aurors following and tracking her movements?" with that said she turned on the spot and disappeared, leaving behind a confused and enraged Alastor Moody.

* * *

 **Potter Manor - Wednesday 7th April 1982**

"You two finally had sex" James grinned at Hermione and Sirius.

"Shut up" Hermione grumbled and she stood up and walked out of the living room.

"So?" James asked Sirius and the answering grin he gave had him laughing.

"Amazing" Sirius sighed and he flopped his head back onto the couch.

"Told you so" James replied in a sing song voice.

"Just one problem"

"What?" he asked quickly.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep without her next to me"

James sighed. "Been having that problem myself" he confessed.

"She doesn't have nightmares when someone sleeps next to her"

"I've noticed, maybe it's best if she always has someone with her during the night"

"And it gives us easier access to her" Sirius smirked and James laughed shaking his head.

"She'll be pissed"

"That's what I'm hoping for" he grinned.

* * *

 **Potter Manor - Wednesday 21st April 1982**

Two weeks went by without a hitch. There was no Dumbledore, no more Death Eater attacks, no searching for Horcruxes, it was perfect. Hermione had been researching the Deathly Hallows, she had the resurrection stone, the cloak and that just left the Elder wand, of which she was sure Dumbledore was in possession of. She had come to the conclusion that in her old time line, Harry had been the Master of Death and in possession of all three, so maybe that was what brought him back from the dead. If that was the case she could destroy the Horcrux inside Harry without hurting him, or so she hoped.

When there was a flash of blinding light Hermione turned around to see Lily Potter smiling down at her.

"Lily"

"Hello, dear, it's been a while. So much has happened since we last spoke. I am incredibly proud of you, off all that you have accomplished. You are almost complete with your task" she smiled at her.

"It hasn't been easy"

"No, it hasn't. I am sorry for all that you have suffered after my last visit. Never in my worst nightmare would I believe that Albus was capable of..."

"No one saw it coming" Hermione jumped in. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?"

"Straight to the point" Lily chuckled. "As I said before, you are almost complete with your task. I am here to offer the last little nudge that would give you the ability to end this war for good, you know what you have to do, but you are frightened and you shouldn't be"

"I have to kill Harry to kill Voldemort" she whispered.

"Not necessarily" Hermione's eyes shot up to her. "I believe that you have already figured out a way to destroy the Horcrux without killing Harry"

"Deathly Hallows, it's what saved him last time"

"Not necessarily"

"What do you mean?"

"The Deathly Hallows did bring Harry back from the dead, but that wasn't the only factor, there was something else contributing. The same something else that saved Harry's life the night you arrived in this time" Hermione stared at her confused. "You know the answer Hermione, I know you do. Think. Think of everything between you and Harry"

"Well, we have a sibling bond, we are blessed by the Moon Goddess and the Sun God. We are both powerful, we are both half-bloods. The only similarity between Halloween and the Final Battle that I can think of is my presence" she frowned.

Lily nodded with a smile. "Precisely, your presence"

"You're saying that I'm what kept Harry alive"

"Yes, Harry was saved the first time during the Final Battle due to both the Deathly Hallows and your bond. The second time he died, your magic was drastically weakened as was Harry's, therefore the bond couldn't support him any longer. When you arrived in this time your magic was given a boost and your bond was reinstated, making it more powerful than ever. You would've gladly given your life to protect Harry without a second thought, your love for him, your bond, saved Harry that night"

Hermione stayed quiet, having her suspicions confirmed was a relief but also a burden. When Hermione looked up again Lily was holding a very familiar looking hat.

"The sorting hat?"

"Albus won't miss it for five minutes, I believe you have a discussion that needs to be had" she replied, handing the hat to her.

Hermione took it and placed it on her head.

 _'Ah, Miss Granger, I've been waiting for this moment. The time has come; you must make your decision'_

 _'Will it work?'_

 _'Most likely, your chances are great, far greater than when I last spoke with you. This is a difficult time for you but the fate of the world rests on your shoulders'_

 _'Rather mine than Harry's. It could kill him'_

 _'It could'_ he said simply.

 _'If our places were reversed I would want it to be done. And I know that Harry would say the same thing'_

 _'Distinct lack of self preservation. As Gryffindor as ever'_

 _'Never going to change'_ she thought with a grin. _'I'm not sure what to do'_

 _'Yes, you are; you have already made up your mind'_

 _'I know'_

 _'Until the next time we meet, Miss Granger'_

 _'Thank you'_

Hermione removed the hat and handed it back to Lily, who smiled at her.

"I must go now, I will visit you one last time when the war is over" Lily stepped back. "Oh and Hermione" she looked up. "Thank you for teaching James that it is possible to fall in love again, thank you for loving him. And Sirius, thank you for teaching him that it is a beautiful thing to love someone, to have hope"

"You're not mad?" she whispered.

"No" Lily chuckled. "I predicted this, you have my blessing" she spoke her words from their last conversation and Hermione's eyes widened. "Good luck Hermione, things are going to get more difficult, but I have faith in you" she spoke before she disappeared

Hermione sat staring into space, she didn't know how long it had been since Lily's departure, but she was interrupted by a blue patronus in the form of the cat.

"Miss Granger, several known Death Eaters have returned, they have been tracked to Worcestershire, England" McGonagall's voice spoke. Hermione's eyes widened in shock and panic. Worcestershire was were Potter Manor was located. "Albus and several members of The Order are on route; my patronus will lead you to the battle ground"


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Voldemort Returns**

* * *

AN: Here comes the battle

* * *

 **Potter Manor - Wednesday 21st April 1982**

Hermione jumped from her seat and ran out of the room, the patronus following her.

"JAMES, REMUS, SIRIUS!" Hermione yelled, bolting up the stairs and heading straight for the living room.

"Where's the fire?" Sirius chuckled at her.

"McGonagall's patronus has just arrived" she gestured to the cat waiting for her to explain the situation before it led them to the battle ground. They looked alarmed. "The Order have tracked several Death Eaters to Worcestershire. I don't know how many" she said seeing Remus was going to ask. "There's going to be a battle"

"We better get going then" they jumped up.

"Remus, go to the Burrow and inform Molly and Arthur, then take Harry to Malfoy Manor, it has more security wards, ones that even surpass mine. Get the Weasleys to follow you there. No doubt Lucius and Arthur will wish to join the fight, I will send my patronus in twenty minutes time, be back here before then and it'll lead you to us"

"I'll see you on the front line" he saluted and grabbed Harry, rushing to the floo. Hermione rolled her eyes. "We'll go in our animagus forms, it'll get us there quicker" the others agreed and they quickly changed and that's when the cat patronus took off and they followed.

* * *

 **Worcestershire**

Once they stepped off the Potter grounds, they ran for three miles before they came across a large field filled with dark robes and silver masked figures fighting others who were wearing slightly lighter robes. There were explosions going off in the distance, shouts of curses, hexes and spells were heard and beams of lights could be seen. There were destroyed trees, patches of burnt grass and small fires littering the field.

They turned back and Hermione turned to face James and Sirius.

"You going to be okay?" she asked James more so than Sirius, Sirius had been with her at every battle, but James had been forced to stay behind and protect Harry.

"It's been a while, but it's like flying a broom, you never forget" he grinned at her and gripped his wand.

"Never learned to fly so I'll take your word for it" they chuckled at her. "Good luck" she looked at them both.

"Good luck" they both replied.

She kissed them both quickly before they disappeared into the battle. Hermione quickly cast her patronus, sending several to different members of the White Lions to inform them off the battle. She then turned and ran into the battle herself.

She quickly got into a duel with a Death Eater, sending a well aimed stupefy and sending him to the floor, casting an Incarcerous keeping him from escaping. Another Death Eater saw what happened and turned towards her, stopping her from making her way deeper into the battle, where she could feel a surge of power radiating from.

She was hit with a cutting curse in the arm, sending one in return and cutting the other's robes. He stepped forward and tripped on the robes and hit the ground, Hermione took the chance to cast a full body bind curse and secure him with some ropes.

It took her a good twenty minutes to reach the centre of the battle, several Death Eaters stopping her from reaching her target. She received several injuries but came out on top every time.

When she looked at the sight in front of her she realised why it radiated power. It was easy to tell the Death Eaters were far better skilled at duelling than the others, meaning they were likely members of the inner circle, but that wasn't what caught her attention.

No, it was Dumbledore and a cloaked man duelling fiercely and Hermione didn't have to see the face to know it was Voldemort, he had returned. A lot sooner than she thought he would. Ten years sooner than he was originally suppose to. She wasn't certain whether she should take it as good news or bad news.

Dumbledore cast a shielding charm as he looked around him, checking for any possible attackers, his eyes landed on her and his features hardened.

"What are you doing, Dumbledore?" Hermione spoke loudly and the hooded figure stopped sending spells to Dumbledore and turned to watch her with interest. "You can't destroy him, you know you can't. You put so much belief into that ridiculous prophecy why are you going against it? You're going to get yourself killed"

"I know what I'm doing, _Child_ " he spoke coldly.

"Do you now? You're being stupid for someone who is considered to be one of the most powerful wizards in the world. You're not going to win this battle if you continue"

"Neither will you" he sneered.

"I don't expect to win; I have come to terms with it. I know that I won't make it through this war alive, I will die"

He ignored her and turned back to the cloaked figure and he pointed his wand.

"Avada..."

"Expelliarmus" Hermione called out, disarming Dumbledore instantly and he never saw it coming. He turned to her enraged. "I'm trying to save your life"

"I don't need your help" he waved his hand and his wand flew out of hers and into his.

"Avada Kedavra" two voices called.

The two beams of neon green light collided with a deafening bang and everyone stopped duelling and turned to look at the sight.

One body fell to the ground and everyone stared in shock, even Hermione. She took several deep breaths and then turned away to look at the cloaked figure that was laughing loudly. She glared at him and he pulled his hood down.

She was surprised to see a young man with dark black hair, dark brown eyes, almost black and pale skin. His had a prominent jaw and high cheek bones. It seems destroying parts of his soul made him look human once more, but she doubted there was any humanity left in him.

"You did warn him" he chuckled. "He should've listened to you instead of patronizing you" he said with a smirk and Hermione looked down at the body of Albus Dumbledore.

"The Order of the Phoenix has fallen" he said loudly, all Death Eaters moved in a flurry and stood behind him. The members of The Order that weren't part of the White Lions huddled together and he smirked at them triumphantly as many of their members had fallen.

"But the White Lions still remain" Hermione called out and his eyes snapped to her. Every member of the White Lions present flocked to her and stood behind her, glaring at him. James, Remus, Sirius, Lucius, Arthur, Fabian, Gideon, Kingsley, McGonagall, aurors and several new members, who had all survived.

Moody looked at Hermione and the group in shock, particularly at McGonagall, Kingsley and the twins.

"You're with her?" he growled.

"Have been since she quit The Order" Fabian grinned unapologetically and Voldemort watched amused. "You were going to get us killed; you were going to get her killed. The way you were treating her wasn't right, she wanted to help and you were too afraid of her"

"She had the sense to get out before Dumbledore led her to her death" Gideon spoke. "And we had the sense to follow her. You've got to admit, she's much nicer and better looking" he winked at her.

"Oi! That's our girlfriend" Sirius and James spoke annoyed.

"A triad?" Voldemort spoke, sounding delighted.

"Shut up" Hermione glared at him and turned back to Moody.

"The file? The information? The tracking?"

"All a set up" Kingsley spoke with a pleased look on his face. "Do you honestly think they were completely untraceable? It's true that Mia is amazing at avoiding being tracked but only for a few hours at most before her trail can be picked up again"

He turned to look at McGonagall.

"You?" he growled.

"Albus could not be trusted. He all but admitted that it was him who broke into their apartment and tortured her, if he is capable of that he is capable of anything" she said without regret, though her eyes softened when she looked at the body on the floor.

"I see you finally see what Dumbledore was?" Voldemort spoke and Hermione turned to look at him. She felt a tingle going over her and she knew that he had cast a silencing charm so only they could hear each other. "I've had people watching you, you intrigued me. You know more about me than I have ever told anyone before. After my loss last year I had someone look into you. The name Mia Granger didn't exist until last year, you appeared out of nowhere with impressive exam results" Hermione looked at him with a bored look on her face.

"Why are you here? Why this place in particular?"

He smirked at her. "That bald friend of yours is right, you are difficult to trace, more difficult than any of my Death Eaters could ever hope to be. I however am not so easy to trick, I can see the difference between a fake trail and the real one. Imagine my surprise when I decide to take a trip down memory lane and visit the home of my ancestors, and who do I see leaving the building, you" if Hermione was panicked she did a hell of a job hiding it. "I followed you, the best I could do was here. Your trail just disappeared; my guess would be there's a property under the Fidelius nearby. I returned and I was a little more than irritated to find that my family ring was missing, I want it back" his eyes had gone hard, taking on a terrifying red tint.

This time she smirked. "Well I would give it to you except that I can't, it's currently sat at the bottom of the River Thames" he looked furious. "Not that it matters, your precious Horcrux is destroyed" his fury turned to shock. "I told you Riddle, I know far more about you than you could ever imagine. I know that you have five Horcruxes, unfortunately I have only managed to destroy four of them, I am unable to figure out the last" she frowned, hoping to give off a look of annoyance. At this point in time she was bluffing, the final Horcrux had been an accident so as far as he was aware, there were five not six.

He smirked at her in relief, he still had one left, and he could always make more. He locked eyes with her and she felt a presence in her mind, but she was prepared for it. Hermione tugged on the magic of the moon to help reinforce her occlumency shields and he was thrown out of her head. He stared at her in shock. He had a decision to make, she was too valuable to the other side to be allowed to live, but she could be tremendously valuable to him. He cancelled the silencing charm so everyone surrounding them could once more hear the discussion.

"Join me"

Hermione burst out laughing. "I would rather be locked in a room with Moody" the Marauders and Prewett twins snorted at her. He glared at her. "I will never join you, The Order may be no more, but the White Lions are standing strong"

"Very well, Dumbledore is dead, many are wounded. I will give you one week. One week to bury the dead and heal the injured and the battle will continue for one final time. Don't say I'm not merciful" with that said he turned on the spot and apparated, his followers not far behind him.

Hermione turned to look at her friends and family. Many had cuts and large wounds, but nothing fatal. She took a head count and breathed a sigh of relief when she realised no one was missing, they had all survived.

She looked around the field. There were many bodies littering the floor, Death Eaters and members of The Order. All The Order members in question were dead; some of the Death Eaters were dead and others just unconscious.

"Kingsley, Fabian, Gideon" she said turning to look at them. "It's time to get to work" they nodded and they left with the other aurors to start preparing for the transporting of the captured Death Eaters. Aurors from The Order looked around before slowly moving to help the others; Moody stared at Hermione before turning away to do his job.

Hermione turned to the rest of her group of friends and one by one, she started healing their injuries. There was nothing serious so it didn't take long.

"We're going to be at the Ministry all night taking statements and writing out reports" Fabian called over, as he checked over the binding ropes of a Death Eater.

"I hope you all got plenty of sleep last night; we're not going home any time soon" Hermione spoke.

* * *

 **Malfoy Manor -Thursday 22nd April**

Six very exhausted figures made their way through the manor and to the dining room, where lunch would be on the table since it was around noon.

"Thank Merlin" two very worried women shrieked, chairs scrapped across the floor and they rushed forward, taking it in turns to draw them into hugs.

"What happened?" Molly asked. They all took their seats at the table after greeting the Weasley children, Draco and Theo who were oblivious to everything that was happening in the world around them.

"Dumbledore is dead" they gasped. "Voldemort is back in England. We arrived at the battle grounds and started duelling. I finally made my way to the centre of the battle and Voldemort and Dumbledore were duelling. I told Dumbledore to stop fighting, that the prophecy wouldn't allow for him to kill Voldemort, neither would the precautions, as far as he's concerned there's still four left. I disarmed him and he didn't heed my warning. Dumbledore is dead. Voldemort gave us a week to heal and bury the dead. In a week's time the Final Battle will be upon us"

"Dead?" Molly whispered.

"None of ours died. Several Death Eaters, some Order members and we captured many Death Eaters. We didn't have any fatal injuries and so they were easy to heal"

"What about the final precaution?" Narcissa asked.

Everyone looked to her.

"I'll take care of it" that signalled the end of the discussion and everyone ate breakfast.

"Where's Harry?" James asked.

"He spent all night screaming, he finally cried himself to sleep in the early hours of the morning. He's still asleep" Narcissa answered whilst leaning over to wipe some food off Draco's face.

"He'll be exhausted. When we're finished here we'll had home, I'm exhausted myself" James replied.

* * *

 **Potter Manor**

They put a sleeping Harry to bed, Remus went to his room and in some unspoken agreement James, Sirius and Hermione went to her room.

They stripped down to their underwear and climbed into bed. Hermione resting her head on Sirius's chest and James wrapping an arm around her and his chest to her back.

"One week" Hermione whispered.

"We know" they whispered in reply.

"One week and I'm going to die"

"You're not going to die" Sirius growled.

"I am; I can feel it" Sirius felt a tear hit his chest.

He and James looked at each other and they made a decision, this wasn't how they wanted to do it, but they had been discussing it for some time. "We love you"

Hermione sniffled and small smile pulled at her lips.

"I love you both" she replied, Sirius kissed her forehead and James her shoulder.

"We are not going to lose you, I won't allow that to happen" Sirius said. "You're it for us, our forever"

"We love you and we want to spend the rest of our lives with you" James picked up. "We couldn't imagine loving someone else, sharing our lives with someone else. All we want is you. All we need is you. We want to marry you"

Hermione stopped breathing.

"This is the part where you give us an answer" Sirius said.

"You didn't ask a question" Hermione muttered.

"Marry us?" they both asked.

"We've only been dating for four months. You're only doing this because there's a week until the battle"

"No, we're not" James spoke.

"Well we are" Sirius said. "But that's not the only reason. We've been discussing it for a while now, we have been intending to ask you to marry us for some time, but we knew you would want to be together longer first so we put it off. We want to marry you before either of us die, for you to be our wife before there is a chance for you to be taken away from us"

"We may have officially been together for four months, but if you think about it, it's been longer. We had feelings for you long before we started dating, about three weeks after we met you to be specific. I love you, more than I have ever loved anything, except Harry of course"

"I have never loved anyone the way I love you. I love James and Remus and Harry, I love the Malfoys and the Weasleys but they are my family. I am in love with you. You are the only woman I ever want to be in love with, to ever reciprocate my feelings. I want you to be my wife, my first and my only"

Her tears were flowing freely.

"I love you both so much that it hurts. Growing up I knew I wouldn't survive the war and therefore I never thought about a future. I never thought about marriage, children, a career. But you make me want to have that. I want to get married, I want to have children, I want to have a career. But I am going to die and I am never going to have that and I want more than anything to have that with you. I want to watch Harry grow old, I want to watch Draco, Theo and the Weasleys head off to Hogwarts and maybe even a couple of my own children going with them. I want to see your smiles, hear your laughter every day. I want to see you attempt to make me love Valentine's day every year. I want to spend the full moon in my animagus form and play fighting with Moony. I want to tell you how much I love you every day for the rest of my life"

"We can give you two of those things now and when you survive we can have the rest" Sirius spoke.

"Molly and Narcissa have been conspiring against us and have been planning a wedding; they said they knew it was coming. They're probably finished; everything can be done in a few days. We can be married before the week is up"

"And the second thing we can give you is telling you how much we love you each day" James muttered. "So, will you marry us?"

"Yes, I will marry you" they smiled.

"We'll let them know in the morning" Sirius replied.

"There's something I need to tell you"

"What is it?"

"The final Horcrux"

"I know it's Harry" James said sadly.

"WHAT?" Hermione yelled, sitting up and pushing both Sirius and James away from her in the process.

"I know it's Harry" he repeated and tears started to once more fall down her face. He cupped her cheek.

"How? I was so careful not to tell you"

He smiled at her sadly. "I put the pieces together. Harry is a Parselmouth. He has a connection with Voldemort; you told me that he transferred some of his abilities to him. Voldemort was defeated when the curse backfired. You were always sad when we brought up the final Horcrux; you looked like you were in pain. It wasn't difficult to come to the conclusion that he was the final Horcrux, the accident"

She opened her mouth but no sound came out. "It's okay" he said softly. "I know you wanted to protect us from the pain of knowing. I know you didn't want to hurt us, panic us. I know you have been researching since the day you got here to figure out a way to get rid of the Horcrux without hurting Harry"

She nodded. "I think I've found it, it won't kill him, but it will hurt. I've got a plan"

"Does this have something to do with the stone you removed from the ring?" Sirius asked.

She nodded. "I need it to save Harry"

"Why?"

"You've heard the story of Death and the Three Brothers haven't you?"

"Yeah" the replied looking confused.

"The cloak, the stone and the wand" they nodded again. "They're real" their eyes widened. "The Three Brothers existed, the Peverells. James, the Potter line branched from the Peverells" their eyes widened further. "Your many greats of a grandfather was the owner of the cloak"

"My invisibility cloak?" he whispered.

"Yes, it is one of the Deathly Hallows"

"The ring?" Sirius asked.

"The Gaunt ring contained the resurrection stone, their line also stemmed from the Peverells. They obviously didn't know that they had a Deathly Hallow in their presence. In my other time Dumbledore discovered the stone in the ring and found a way to conceal it in a snitch and he gave it to Harry. I removed it from the ring before I destroyed it. I have it now"

"The wand?" James asked.

Hermione's answer was to reach over to her bedside table and pick up her wand. "It's mine" they stared at her.

"It doesn't look like the wand" Sirius muttered.

"Dumbledore was in possession of it before me, before that it was Grindelwald. The way to Master the Elder wand is to disarm the owner, and once that happens the power transfers over to the victor's wand. I have the Elder wand"

"That's why you disarmed him at the battle; you said you needed something from him"

"Yes, but also because I wanted to save his life, but yes, I also needed the wand. The Elder wand will work for me and for Harry. With the three Deathly Hallows, Harry will become the Master of Death, as a precaution I will pull on the power of the Moon Goddess for help keeping him protected. What I need to do will be very painful, for that I will give him a pain potion, enough that it will knock him out. I can't give him a sleeping draught, he's still too young"

"How will you do it?" James whispered, gripping her hand.

"Basilisk venom, I'll put a few drops on his scar and it will kill the Horcrux, leaving Voldemort mortal"

"I have faith in you" he spoke, but she could see the fear in his eyes.

"I figured it out, I'm the reason he survived. My love for him, our magic, our bond saved him this time round. I'll die before I let Harry go before me"

"We better get some sleep, if we're getting married we're going to need it in order to deal with Molly and Cissy" Sirius spoke and they laid back down and drifted off.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: A Horcrux, A Meeting and A Wedding**

 **Potter Manor - Saturday 24th April 1982**

Three days later Molly and Narcissa had their hands full setting up for the wedding. They were both furious and thrilled to learn James, Hermione and Sirius were getting married the night before the Final Battle. Luckily the wedding had already been planned and after many happy tears, they immediately set to work preparing the grounds of Potter Manor for the wedding ceremony.

James, Sirius and Hermione were preoccupied with preparing to destroy the Horcrux within Harry. A spring Saturday, was the day. It was sun down.

The four Marauders gathered in front of the lake on the Potter grounds, a blanket laid out on the floor with Harry in the centre playing with his stuffed dragon.

"You can do this, I have faith in you" James said quietly and looking down at his son with complete love and fear.

She shook her head, forcing herself not to cry. "What if I fail?" she whispered with fear laced in her tone.

"You won't; your bond and your love for Harry will keep him safe" Sirius spoke, though he didn't look to be in better condition.

"You will save us all, Mia" Remus spoke, much more confident than the other two and she couldn't help but feel a little more confident in her plan.

"Let's get this over with" she muttered. She stepped forward and sat down next to Harry, smiling at him and handing him a drink of milk which she had poured the pain potion into.

He took it with a giggle and drank from it, within in a matter of minutes Harry had fallen asleep.

James, Remus and Sirius all stepped forward. Hermione shifted Harry so that he lay in her arms. She picked up his sun pendent and clasped it together with her moon pendent. James wrapped the invisibility cloak around both Harry and Hermione. Remus placed the resurrection stone in the sleeping Harry's hand and Sirius pressed Hermione's wand –the Elder wand- into his other hand. They stepped back and waited.

Hermione took a deep breath and stared down at Harry. She looked up at the sky and summoned her magic and some magic for the moon.

"Please help me" she whispered. "Please don't let him die, I've failed him once, I won't do it again" she looked back down at Harry and then removed a vial of basilisk venom from her pocket. She removed the stopper and lifted the vial to Harry's scar.

Without giving herself a chance to stop, she tipped the vial and several drops of basilisk venom fell onto the scar. Several seconds later black smoke poured out of Harry's scar and there was an ear splitting scream. Everyone covered their ears but Hermione tightened her hold on Harry as tears streamed down her face. She was mumbling the binding vows under her breath.

The black smoke faded and the scream stopped, leaving only the sounds of the wildlife around the grounds and Hermione's sobs and muffled words.

Harry wasn't breathing.

"No, please, please, save him" she begged.

Tears fell from her face landing on Harry's scar. Their combined necklaces began to glow, a mixture of silver and gold, the light grew brighter and brighter.

"Merlin" she heard three voices whisper in awe. Hermione's head snapped up to see what they were looking at.

The sun and the moon were glowing brighter then she had ever seen them. When she started the process, the sun was setting and the moon rising, but that had changed.

The sun and moon were moving across the sky, moving closer together.

"What's happening?" James asked with tears falling down his face.

"She's saving him, they're saving him" Remus whispered.

The sun and the moon suddenly collided with a loud bang and the ground shook beneath them.

Harry was lifted from Hermione's arms and she stood up. Harry was floating in the air, the Elder wand, the stone and the cloak falling to the floor.

Harry glowed a blinding white before he was lowered back into Hermione's arms. The sun disappeared from view, leaving only the moon.

Hermione stared mesmerised as Harry's chest moved up and down.

"Thank you, thank you" she chanted in a whisper as she clung to Harry. "He's alive" she spoke louder. The three men rushed forward and crowded around her and Harry, encasing her in a hug.

"You did it" Sirius said in joy, disbelief, fear, too many emotions to name.

"I did it" she whispered in shock. "That's the final Horcrux, only Voldemort left"

"How about we get married first?" James spoke.

* * *

 **Worcestershire - Sunday 25th April 1982**

"Professor, why are we here?" Hermione asked looking around the field that the last battle had taken place at and where the Final Battle would be in four days time.

"I received a message that I was to bring you here"

"From?"

"Me" a gruff voice spoke. Hermione turned around, followed by James, Remus and Sirius.

"Moody" Hermione greeted, he stared at her. After a few minutes of silence she was getting bored. "Well, why are we here? I have a wedding to prepare for and battle plans to finalise"

"You will need my help"

She raised an eyebrow. "Not really, we are doing just fine, thank you"

"No, you're not" he barked.

She snorted. "I had undercover agents in your organisation, three of them senior aurors who you never even suspected, not to mention eight junior aurors, the Malfoys and the Weasleys. In addition, both Severus and Professor McGonagall switched alliances weeks ago"

"She's got you there" Sirius laughed.

"I destroyed three Horcruxes under your nose and left you a false trail and fake evidence"

"She's got you there" Remus laughed.

"Finally, I found out that Dumbledore made a great injustice against Lucius Malfoy, an innocent man and I freed him from a fate worse than death, when you were in the same building"

"Once again, she's got you there" James laughed. "Besides, I don't trust you; you wanted to use my son as bait" he spoke, his laughter gone.

"And we still should" Moody replied.

"We don't need him, we have me. Voldemort is more interested in me at this point in time, he revealed that I intrigued him. I showed up out of nowhere, he doesn't know about my past or about where I came from. He realises that I am a threat to him, especially when he learned that I knew about his Horcruxes"

"You told him?" he snarled.

"Yes, the art of distraction is a great thing" Hermione answered. "You see, I told him that I couldn't figure out what his final Horcrux was, of course it was a lie. So now he will be preoccupied with retrieving the Horcrux instead of making battle plans. Immortality is the only thing he cares for and he fears that I may find his Horcrux and destroy it, leaving him mortal. Whilst he's doing that I have already destroyed the Horcrux, we did it last night"

"You will still need my help" he muttered.

"Why? The aurors trust me, did you know that more than thirty have expressed interest in joining the White Lions?" she spoke. "But if you want to switch sides and join the White Lions, you have to pass the initiation process"

"What initiation process?"

As soon as he spoke Hermione pulled her wand and sent a spell at him. Moody blocked it and sent a curse in return. Hermione sent a jinx, Moody sent a hex. Hermione moved left, Moody moved right. Hermione blocked, Moody sent a curse. This continued for ten minutes before Hermione found an opening.

"Pullus" she said flicking her wand and effectively transfiguring Moody into a chicken, he clucked at her and ruffled his feathers and the others were laughing, even Snape was smirking and McGonagall's lip twitched.

She turned back to the others.

"Should we let him help?"

They shrugged.

"As much as I hate to admit it, he has experience that will come in handy, he's a good duellist and a paranoid old fool. That will work in our advantage" Snape drawled.

"He stays away from Harry" James said.

Hermione snorted. "I would die before I let anyone near him"

"It's your choice, Love, but don't expect me to babysit him" Sirius spoke.

"You do what you think is right, if you think having his help will be useful then agree, if not send him on his way" Remus said.

Hermione sighed and turned around, with a flick of her wrist and a muttered incantation Moody stood back up, no longer a chicken.

"You passed the initiation process" Hermione informed him.

"You out duelled me" he mumbled annoyed.

Sirius barked out a laugh. "Duelling her wasn't the initiation process, it was being turned into a chicken. She's done it to almost everyone, especially the ex-Order members"

Moody glared.

"If you wish to help you may. If there's one thing I can't fault you on it's your loyalty. Unfortunately you were loyal to the wrong person. My attack, it was Dumbledore, he used an Unforgivable on me whilst the other two stood there and watched, Dumbledore wasn't the man you thought he was. I'm not saying he deserved to die, but it was his own fault. As far as he was aware, there were still Horcruxes to be destroyed and Voldemort was still immortal. Trying to kill him when he couldn't was stupid and I warned him, but he didn't listen to me" with that said she turned on the spot and apparated.

* * *

 **Potter Manor - Tuesday 27th April 1982**

It was the day of the wedding. Minister Bagnold would be officiating the ceremony. The night before Hermione had visited and informed the Minister of her true identity, the reason for many of her strange requests and the reason to why her name had been in many of the reports regarding the capture of many Death Eaters, but most importantly, she had informed her of Voldemort's return.

It had taken an hour of conversation followed by three hours of watching memories before Minister Bagnold finally relinquished her denial and accepted that Hermione was telling the truth, particularly about the battle that was taking place very soon. The Unspeakables had been informed of the battle and they were preparing to work under Hermione, who had been made the leader of the mission. They would answer to her. Hermione had given James, Sirius, Remus, Moody, the twins, Kingsley, Lucius and McGonagall their own teams of aurors and members, but Hermione would be overseeing the entire organisation.

Battle plans had been made, shown to everyone and then re-shown. They were prepared.

And now Hermione was getting married.

She had made a quick trip into the muggle world and bought a wedding dress, bringing it back with her to be magically altered which took all of two days. Now she was dressed, her hair and makeup done and finally she was putting on her shoes.

She stood up and looked at herself in the mirror.

Her hair was left flowing down her back in soft, shiny curls. Her makeup light, barely even noticeable; only a gold eye shadow, a shiny lip gloss and a smidge of black mascara. Her wedding dress was simple, but she loved it. It was the only dress she tried on. It was made of white silk with sleeves that reached her palms, but they sat on her shoulders, baring the ivory flesh for everyone to see. The dress fell to the floor, clinging to her frame beautifully. Her veil wasn't overly long or too short, just right and made from lace. It was clipped to the silver diamond tiara she wore on her head, a gift from Sirius from the Black vault.

Her jewellery consisted of a pair of diamond stood earrings, her silver moon pendant and her engagement ring. She looked down at it fondly. The white gold band sat on her ring finger, with a large heart shape ruby catching the attention of all that looked her way. James and Sirius had presented her with it the day after she agreed to marry them, formally proposing to her. She had argued that the ring was too expensive but they waved her off, informing her that she was marrying both the second wealthiest and the third wealthiest men in Europe. She huffed and stormed out of the room and she heard them laughing in the background.

She smiled at the memory. There was a knock on the door and Arthur walked in.

"You look beautiful" he said with a smile. Hermione smiled back, she had asked Arthur to walk her down the aisle, being the only father she had had in her life since entering the magical world. Arthur had been more than honoured and promptly accepted her wish.

"Thank you"

"Are you ready?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes" he smiled and held his arm out, which she took.

They made their way out of the room and to the lake, where the wedding would be held. The sun was shining and not a cloud in the sky, the weather warm with a pleasant breeze in the air and the surface of the water sparkling in the sun light. White chairs with white silk banners draped over them sat the guests: Weasleys, Malfoys and members of the White Lions.

There was a white carpet rolled out creating the aisle, Sirius and James stood at the end of it with Remus as their best man. Narcissa made her way down the aisle as Hermione's bridesmaid. Each of the Weasley children -except Ginny- Harry, Draco and Theo, following behind her, dressed in their suits and all beaming wide grins.

"Now it's your turn" Arthur whispered just as the bridal march began to play.

All guests turned to face her and they beamed at her as she slowly made her way down the aisle. She could see camera flashes going off in her peripheral vision, but her attention was on James and Sirius, who were both supporting the biggest smiles she had ever seen and their eyes rakes over her.

She smiled at their attire, both of them wearing identical, black muggle suits. From the shoes to the tie, they were identical.

Before Hermione knew it she had reached the end of the aisle, both of her hands held by James and Sirius and it was time for the vows.

Hermione turned to James first. "Don't you ever doubt the love I have for you. You are kind, you are intelligent and you are loving. Simply put, you are amazing and everything you do, everything you are makes me want to love you more than I already do. I wouldn't have joy in my life if I didn't have you. I wouldn't have family, I wouldn't have someone who cared whether or not I came home. I wouldn't have someone to make me laugh, to make me smile. I swear to be everything that you need and to love you for eternity. I love you" she spoke with tears in her eyes, James mirroring her.

She then turned to Sirius.

"You are a pain in the arse" the crowd chuckled at her, he scowled at her. "But you're _my_ pain in the arse. You tease me, you annoy me and you steal my food, but I wouldn't have you any other way. You are so much more than you allow people to see, but with me I see everything. Your flaws, your perfections, your quirks, your annoying habit of stealing my fruit scented shampoo" again this earned laughs but Sirius smiled widely, unaffected. "You make me want to be a better person, a better friend, a better everything. I swear to be everything that you need and to love you for eternity. I love you"

James and Sirius wrote their vows together.

"Mia" they both spoke.

"We love you; it is undeniable that we love you. You are one of a kind and we are incredibly lucky for you to have chosen us as your partners, as your choice of husbands when you could've had anyone. I don't know what we did to deserve you, but we thank every God and every form of magic there is. We would be useless without you, you give us purpose, you give us hope" James said.

"You are the strongest person we have ever met. You keep everyone safe, you protect people, you sacrifice so much that we could never repay you for your kindness and selflessness. You have no idea how happy we are to have you in our lives. We promise to love you for as long as we shall live and we will carry that love for you into the afterlife with us. We will protect you like you have protected us. We will give you hope like you have given us and we will give you a loving family, like you have given us. We love you" Sirius spoke. Hermione had tears falling down her face.

"James, Sirius, do you take Mia Granger, for better or for worse? For richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you shall live? As your lawfully and magically wedded wife?"

"We do" they replied without hesitation and together they slipped the white gold wedding band with rubies and diamonds embedded into the metal, onto her ring finger in front of her engagement ring.

"Mia, do you take James Charlus Potter and Sirius Orion Black, for better or for worse? For richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, for long as you shall live? As your lawfully and magically wedded husbands?"

"I do" she spoke instantly. She slipped the matching wedding band onto their ring fingers, only theirs were thicker.

"I now pronounce you husbands and wife, you may now kiss the bride" Minister Bagnold said with a large smile. The crowd erupted into cheers and she rolled her eyes when Sirius and James proceeded to play rock, paper, scissors to decide who got to kiss her first.

James won.

Her pulled her to him, lifted the veil over her head and pressed his lips to hers, keeping the kiss publically acceptable but still passionate and loving. She pulled back and he stepped aside. Sirius smiled at her and pulled her to him, his mouth crashed against hers and he dipped her low.

Hermione couldn't help smile when she heard whistles and Narcissa's huff of "honestly" but Hermione knew she was smiling. When Sirius pulled back he looked at her with so much love and joy that she almost burst into tears again.

"We have a party to get to" he smiled at her and he pulled her back up onto her feet and they faced the cheering crowd.

"May introduce to you, Messrs Potter and Black and Mrs Potter-Black" Minister Bagnold spoke and Hermione couldn't keep the beaming smile off her face.

* * *

The reception was in full swing. Children ran around laughing and smiling and the adults mingled and talked. No one would guess what was to happen the next night, no one would think that a war was about to be ended for good.

They had the first dance, with Sirius and James playing rock, paper, scissors - Sirius won. Everyone shared a dance with Hermione, including Bill, much to the amusement of everyone. They ate the food prepared by the house elves and Molly. They watched the fireworks created by Hermione –of course Fred and George insisted they helped- and photos upon photos were taken of the entire day.

And to make the day even better, Hermione convinced Snape to dance with her, which ended in a round of howls and relentless teasing from the Marauders, but with a glare and a threat of no sex from Hermione, James and Sirius were promptly silenced.

* * *

Hermione, James and Sirius entered her bedroom. When she turned around they were both smiling at her with soft smiles on their faces.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Mrs Potter-Black" James replied.

"Our wife" Sirius said, reaching a hand out to take hers and pull her over to them. "I never thought I'd see the day I got married. I never thought I would even marry, that I would have a family. That was until I met you" he said softly and she smiled at him.

"I never thought I'd love anyone again after Lily, but then I met you. Lily was my first love, I will always love her, but I love you more than I ever thought possible" James spoke.

"I honestly never thought I would marry, I didn't expect to live this long. And I will always love you both, for the rest of my life. Whether it be until tomorrow or in a hundred years"

"We will not let you leave us, we forbid it" Sirius spoke and she smiled at him.

"We at least have tonight to be together" she said. "No messing around tonight, no teasing, no joking and no tears"

She pulled away from them and walked over to her bed. She sat down on the edge and removed her shoes, taking her veil off, followed by her tiara. She looked up to see them both staring at her adoringly.

"Do you plan to just stand there all night?" she asked with a smile.

They shook their heads and chuckled at her, moving over to the bed. James picked her up in his arms and moved her further back, depositing her on the bed. He kicked off his shoes and removed his suit jacket, before climbing onto the bed and sitting behind her, Hermione resting against him with her head against his stomach. Sirius kicked off his shoes and removed his suit jacket and then slipped onto the bed at her feet. In some unplanned movement James lifted his hands to her shoulders and began massaging, easing the knots of stress she had from fighting in a war. Sirius took her right foot and massaged her aching heel, from hours of wearing uncomfortable shoes.

"I knew I made the right choice marrying you" she mumbled, closing her eyes. She heard them both chuckling.

"Happy wife, happy life" Sirius replied, continuing to ease her aching foot.

"And you are most beautiful when you are happy and smiling" James added.

"Or when she's just wokem up and her hair is attacking her. When she's kicking someone's arse in a duel. Defying Dumbledore's orders. When she's playing a prank. When she outsmarts Lucius. When she's with Harry or the other children. When she's kicking my arse as a fox at the full moon. And when she tied herself to us in marriage, telling all men that we won her heart" Sirius said, swapping to her left foot.

James chuckled. "To name a few"

"I really do love you both" Hermione whispered.

"We know, we love you too" James said. Hermione opened her eyes and looked up at him. James couldn't resist and he bent his head down to kiss her.

Hermione lifted her hand and rested it against the back of his neck, keeping him to her. The kiss deepened when her lips parted giving him access that he took advantage of. His hands slipped from her shoulders and covered her breasts, massaging them over the silk of her dress and Hermione hummed.

She felt Sirius' hands moving away from her feet and up her legs, moving higher and higher before moving back down to her feet and returning on their journey upwards. When Hermione made a noise of impatience he chuckled and brushed his fingers over her.

He groaned in surprise.

"James, mate?" James hummed in response, not breaking away from the kiss. "Our dear wife is not wearing underwear" James groaned and pulled away from the kiss breathless.

"Really?" he asked in a husky voice that had Hermione shivering.

She bit her lip and nodded. "They leave lines, particularly in a dress of this material and fitting"

"Yet another reason to adore your clever thought process"

Sirius' hands suddenly pressed against her nub and she gasped and wriggled. James looked over at Sirius with a raised eyebrow and he smirked in response.

James chuckled and tried to distract Hermione by kissing her and Sirius moved her dress up to her waist and situated himself between her legs, moving closer and using his tongue to swipe through her folds and he groaned.

Hermione cried out against James' mouth and he moved his mouth down to her neck, biting her shoulder gently before placing kisses against her skin as she wriggled and gasped under Sirius' ministrations.

When Sirius slipped a finger into her and sucked on her nub, she gripped the bedding and arched her back, her breasts pushing more forcefully into James' hands.

She looked down at Sirius and his eyes locked onto her eyes. She cried out as her orgasm washed over her, her body shaking and her eyes shutting tightly.

"So beautiful" James whispered against her ear.

When Hermione opened her eyes it was to see Sirius looking at her smugly. She narrowed her eyes and dragged him up her body and crashed her mouth against his. James chuckled. Hermione with a new burst of strength rolled them so she was straddling Sirius and she pulled away from him, he was panting and staring up at her with almost black eyes, filled with lust and love.

She reached over and took her wand from her bedside table and she waved it, muttering an incantation - vanishing their clothes. James looked amused as he looked down as himself, clad in only his tie and trousers, where as Hermione and Sirius were completely naked.

Without thought Hermione lifted herself and sank down onto Sirius, both groaning loudly. Hermione placed her hands against his chest for balance and he gripped her waist tightly and they both began moving.

James was transfixed on Hermione's face, watching the pleasure that washed over it in waves. She opened her eyes and they locked onto his. He almost gasped at how dark they were, no longer the warm chocolate brown. She reached over and grabbed his tie, pulling him to her and crashing her mouth against his, her moans lost in his mouth. His moved his hands to her bare breasts and he kneaded and pinched as she and Sirius continued their movements.

It wasn't long before she pulled away from him and cried out her release, as her walls clamped down on Sirius, he barked out her name and released inside her and she collapsed on his chest panting.

A few minutes later she sat up and moved away from Sirius, launching herself into James' arms and kissing him. He pushed her onto her back and reached for her wand, patting the bedding trying to find it until he heard a laugh and he felt Sirius shift on the bed and mutter the incantation. James felt the immediate change as the remainder of his clothing disappeared, he silently thanked Sirius. Hermione didn't give him chance to think of anything else and she shifted under him and guided him into her, wrapping her legs around his waist.

James removed her hands from his shoulders and held them above her head as he drew back and thrust into her. He felt another pair of hands touch his and he looked up and Sirius smirked at him. James moved his hands away and Sirius held Hermione's hands in place, whilst James sat up and gripped Hermione's hips.

Sirius was whispering into Hermione's ear and she was panting, moaning and wriggling. She gave a sudden cry and clamped down around James, he cursed in surprise and felt himself let go. He collapsed onto her and the room fell in silence, the only sounds being heavy breathing. Hermione removed one hand from Sirius' grip and ran it through James' hair and the other held onto Sirius.

James looked up to see a still naked Sirius. To be fair he had seen Sirius naked more times than he could count, what with sharing a dorm, locker room and bathroom throughout school. He thought that he would think it wrong to see him naked because of this reason though, but he didn't. That's when he knew for certain that they had made the right choice in courting their wife together. He looked back down at Hermione, her eyes shining but she was still very much awake.

It's fair to say none of them got much sleep that night.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27: Epilogue**

AN: Well, this is it everyone, the final chapter of another fanfic. Thank you for joining me on this journey through Marauder times. I have loved writing this story and I am sad to see it end, but not to worry, I am working on plenty more. The next story to be my main focus will be 'A Different Kind of Magic' and the first chapter has been posted.

Summary: Hermione's secret is discovered by The Order of the Phoenix. Before Harry is rescued, she needs to be first. But from who? With the help of Sirius she learns to put the past behind her, and with the help of two Weasleys, they show her a happy future. But Hermione isn't who she thinks she is, what she discovers will change her life for good.

Once again, thank you to all viewers, followers, favourites and reviewers. Knowing that you enjoy my work keeps me motivated to write more fanfics for you all.

* * *

 **Worcestershire - Wednesday 28th April 1982**

The White Lions stood on one side of the battle field, Voldemort and his Death Eaters stood on the other side. Where they were wearing black robes and their masks, Hermione and The White Lions were wearing white robes. The contrast between the two would've been clear to anyone. Good and evil. Dark and light. Black and white.

"I will give you one more chance, Miss Granger, join me" Voldemort spoke.

"It's Mrs Potter-Black and I would rather die" she said gripping her wand tightly.

"Very well, just remember this is all because of you" he raised his wand and cast the first spell.

Hermione effortlessly blocked his dark curse and the fighting started. Both sides mingling and duelling, fighting for their lives, for their causes.

"Confringo" Hermione shouted, catching the end of Voldemort's robes. He immediately put out the fire, whilst non-verbally casting a shield to deflect Hermione's curse.

They continued duelling for what felt like hours and she could tell Voldemort was getting bored. He was holding up well, but so was she. It may not have been a full moon, but it was high in the sky and shining brightly, she knew the Moon Goddess was on her side.

"Stupefy" she shouted and he dodged it.

"Child's play" he hissed. "You are no match for me" she blocked his curse.

"And yet here we are still duelling, I've already lasted longer than Dumbledore, surely that must be an indicator as to who you are dealing with"

"Serponsortia" he hissed.

A large king cobra was conjured and headed Hermione's way. But Hermione wasn't worried, with a few select hissing sounds from her, the king cobra turned and headed out of the battle, off into the distance and finding a home for itself elsewhere.

Voldemort almost dropped his wand in shock.

"Who are you? How do you know Parseltongue?"

This is what Hermione wanted. A distraction and it couldn't have come at a better time. The angrier she made him, the more focus he would lose; she knew that better than anyone.

"Still haven't figured it out yet? That must be embarrassing for you" she taunted and she ducked and rolled out of the way of the stinging hex she didn't doubt would've knocked her on her arse.

"Who are you?" he snarled.

Hermione smirked, it was time to dig the wand in deeper.

"I'll give you a hint. I did attend Hogwarts. I was born in London. I existed but not here, not now" she could he was getting annoyed. "From what I've learned about you Riddle, you were a smart man, surely you could figure it out" at his murderous glare she smirked and she moved out of the way of his hex. "No? Not smart enough, very well then, one more hint. You are asking the wrong question. You shouldn't be asking me _where_ I'm from, but instead..."

A look of realisation lit his face. "When are you from?"

"I was born 1979; I am technically close to three years old. Now however, I am nineteen. I was sent here from 1998" she explained as they continued their duel, paying no attention to those around them. "Things happened differently in my time line. You were defeated in 1981, but you didn't return until 1991 in the form of a cursed half life for drinking unicorn blood, you attached yourself to one of my Professors. Harry Potter, myself and another friend of ours were able to stop you from returning to your full power for the next three years. The fourth year however you did return and everything went to shit. A lot of terrible things happened those next three years, but eventually the Final Battle was upon us and do you know what, Riddle? You lost, we prevailed and you died, I watched as you turned into ash and it was swept away in the wind"

He looked angrier than she had ever seen anyone being.

"But most important of all, where I come from, I was referred to as the brightest witch of the age, you really shouldn't underestimate me. Sectumsempra" she spoke clearly.

He was obviously not expecting that incantation to be used by her, he deflected it but it caught his arm. His robes ripped open and exposed his flesh. The skin had deep cuts and blood was pouring. He looked horrified to see himself injured. Even Albus Dumbledore hadn't managed that feat.

"As for the Parseltongue, Harry Potter was my best friend, my brother" she lifted her wrist so he could see the band and his eyes widened. "If you thought I wouldn't protect my brother from you, you were severely mistaken. I would move Heaven and Earth for him; I would time travel back seventeen years for him, being stuck here for the rest of my life. I would learn how to cast fiendfyre for him. I would destroy six Horcruxes for him" she saw him falter in shock. "That's right Riddle, you didn't have five Horcruxes, you had six. You accidentally created another one when you tried to kill Harry Potter, you put a part of your soul inside of him and for that reason he could speak Parseltongue and he taught me what he could. I lied to you a week ago, I've destroyed all of your Horcruxes, and you are mortal now, just like the rest of us. Except we have an advantage over you. We have hope and we know love"

"Hope and love are foolish" he hissed. "They are weak"

"Only because you have never had anyone give you hope or show you love"

Rage was building inside of him before it erupted. He cast spell after spell at Hermione, each time the spell getting darker and darker. She wasn't able to block him so spells caught her and before she knew it she was on the floor, bleeding from many injuries. The two words she was waiting for were spoken.

"Avada Kedavra" he snarled.

"Expelliarmus" she called, their spells colliding and they were fighting to keep control and to win. She was weakening, she could feel herself letting go.

"EXPELLIARMUS" two voices yelled.

James was stood to the left and Sirius to the right. Their spells collided with the other two and the shock caused Voldemort to falter slightly and that cost him. The magic backfired and a loud explosion rang out. All that was left was Voldemort's wand.

Hermione fell back and her eyes closed as she heard worried shouts from her husbands.

* * *

Hermione felt like she was floating, that was all she could feel.

"Well done, my dear" Hermione opened her eyes and slowly sat up to see Lily smiling widely at her. "The war is over and the wizarding world will forever be in your debt. You have completed your mission and the future is as it should be. You did a very brave and very difficult thing. For that you have been granted one wish from those that watch over the world. What do you wish for?"

"I just want to go home" Hermione said softly. Lily smiled at her and motioned for her to lie back down.

"Now that is something I will more than gladly give to you. I am proud of you, Hermione. Thank you and I know that you will make them happy. If anyone deserves it, it is you"

"Will I see you again?"

"No, you won't. The mission is over and there is nothing that needs my presence any longer. The next time you will see me will be in approximately one-hundred and seventy one years"

"That's quite specific for an approximation" Hermione spoke and Lily chuckled at her.

"Good bye, Mrs Potter-Black" everything went black.

* * *

Hermione groaned and opened her eyes to see her two husbands staring down at her worriedly. They smiled when they saw her eyes flutter open and she saw tears falling down their faces, as well as smudges of dirt and blood from their injuries.

"What happened?"

"It's over. He's dead" Sirius said softly and helping her to sit up.

She looked around. The battlefield was littered with dead bodies from both sides, many had been stunned and bound and there were still some duels taking place in the distance.

"How long?"

"You were duelling him for five hours" James answered.

"The other Final Battle took nearly twenty-four hours" she whispered.

"We were prepared this time and it was all because of you"

"It's over?" she asked timidly.

"It's over" they confirmed.

"I'm alive?"

"You're alive" they spoke. Hermione stared in disbelief before she pulled them to her and cried. "I want to go home"

* * *

 **Hogwarts - Wednesday 1st September 1982**

"Now that the sorting has been completed" Headmistress McGonagall spoke, standing from her chair. "You may notice that we have three empty chairs at the Head's table" murmurs broke out. "I would like to introduce to you, your Professors of Transfiguration, Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts"

She waved her wand and the great hall doors swung open, revealing a stag, a brown fox and a large black dog and they walked into the great hall with the students staring at them confused and whispering to their housemates.

When the three animals reached the head's table, they turned around to face the students.

"Professor James Potter of Charms" James turned back into himself and everyone gasped when he stood there smiling handsomely with his messy black robes. Students muttered and whispered.

"Professor Sirius Black of Transfiguration" Sirius turned back into himself smirking at everyone with his black robes rolled up to his sleeves. The murmurs grew louder.

"And finally, Professor Mia Potter-Black of Defence Against the Dark Arts" Hermione was last and stood in-between her husbands. She turned back into herself wearing her pristine black robes and the whispers turned into full blown shouts and cheers.

Hermione ducked her head and her husbands laughed at her and each took a hand and they kissed the back of it. They heard sighs and grumbles.

After they won the Final Battle, it had all come out in the press what had truly happened, revealing Voldemort to not truly be dead, but a secret organisation known as the White Lions, were secretly working to destroy him for good and they did. Every member of the White Lions got credit for what they did, but most of all, Hermione and the Marauders did. Hermione, James, Sirius and Remus were war heroes.

McGonagall had taken over as Headmistress of Hogwarts and she knew that Hermione and her husbands wanted to spend time together and she needed some new professors, after several of them retired. The three of them agreed to take the positions at Hogwarts because they would all be together and Harry would be staying with them throughout the school term. He was old enough to attend classes and be kept occupied whilst his parents taught the students.

They had their own tower in the castle with a living room, study, two bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom. Not to mention they got their own classrooms and offices, access to every part of the castle and forbidden forest, the restricted section in the library and they could leave the castle and grounds whenever they wanted to -especially for the full moon- well, unless they had classes of course.

Hermione had immediately jumped at the chance; her husbands didn't take much convincing. If Harry grew up in the castle and sat in on lessons until he was old enough to attend himself, he may learn things before he even started his school education.

Remus had been made the Department Head of the Control and Regulations of Magical Creatures and was working on abolishing the laws around Werewolves. He had moved out of the Manor and into the apartment, Sirius had gifted him for his future family.

Moody retired and Kingsley, Fabian and Gideon had been given promotions, Snape was still the potions professor, but he seemed to have buried the hatchet with the Marauders, he even had a girlfriend, not that he would tell anyone who it was.

Life was perfect for Hermione.

"Yes, thank you, settle down" McGonagall brought her out of her thoughts. "Professors" she nodded to them.

"Thank you, Professor" Hermione said smiling. "Not only will my husbands and I be your Professors, we are the new professors of Gryffindor house" the Gryffindor table cheered loudly and she looked over to them and she spotted Bill beaming at her and she sent a wink and she saw the boys round on him, asking him questions and he lapped up the attention and she chuckled. "Also, I will be the Head of Gryffindor house" more cheers. "We want to thank everyone for allowing us to come teach here and to share our knowledge and experience with you"

"And if any of you call me Professor" Sirius spoke and everyone looked at his serious expression. "I will give you a month's detention" laughter broke out.

"And if any of you refuse to call him Professor" James said with a smirk thrown Sirius' way. "I will give you two months detention" they stared at him before they burst out laughing and Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Merlin, what have I let into my school" Hermione heard McGonagall mutter and she chuckled. Hermione and her husbands turned and headed to the table and sat down and they ate and chatted as the food appeared on the table.

When the time came they stood to leave and headed out of the great hall with the rest of the students, following the Gryffindor students to their common room.

It hadn't changed much from the time she was there. Red walls and Gryffindor tapestries and banners hanging, dark wooden floors, comfortable and warn red couches and arm chairs, wooden tables and study desks and a warm glowing fire. The only difference was the furniture looked newer than it did in her time.

"Aunt Mia" she turned around to see Bill making his way through the crowd of students who froze and watched him in shock.

"Hey, Bill" she said and she kissed his cheek and hugged him when he reached her. He was then quickly hugged by James and Sirius. The students gasped and the older students stared in awe.

"You didn't tell me you would be a Professor here"

"It was a surprise, now I can teach you all those spells without breaking the law" he grinned at her.

"I can't wait to tell Mum and Dad, and Charlie, he's going to be so jealous" they laughed at him.

"Well Charlie can wait two more years" James chuckled.

"And then we'll teach him everything we know" Sirius smirked.

"Okay, Bill, it's getting late, you should head up to your room, the boys' staircase is to the left, you'll be on the first floor and your trunk will already be in front of your bed"

"Right, night Aunt Mia, Uncles James and Sirius" he hugged them and turned back to the students.

"You know them?" a seventh year boy asked in awe.

"Yeah" Bill replied like he was stupid. "They're my Aunt and Uncles, I spent most of my summer at Potter Manor" the students gawked at him.

"Right everyone, classes start in the morning, I suggest you all head to bed" Hermione spoke and the crowd started thinning out as they headed to their rooms. When the common room was empty she turned and exited out of the portrait and headed to her own tower with her husbands following her.

When they entered Hermione walked straight up the stairs and to Harry's room.

"Hey, Honey"

"Mistress" she greeted. "The Young Master has not woken" Hermione smiled, they had brought Honey with them to help care for Harry on nights they had patrol or would be working late in their offices. The other house elves had stayed behind to care for the Manor until they returned for the holidays.

"Thank you for watching him Honey, you may retire for the evening"

"Mistress, Masters" she bowed and popped out of the room.

Hermione leaned over and kissed the faded lightning bolt scar on Harry's head and she pulled the blanket up to his shoulders. She moved out of the way and James kissed Harry's head, followed by Sirius, they then left the room and went to their bedroom.

Hermione flopped down on the king sized bed and sighed.

"We have a question to ask you?" Sirius asked looking down at her.

"Hmm?" she hummed with her eyes closed.

"Do you still have your old school uniform?" James asked. She opened her eyes and sat up seeing the heated look they were sending her way.

She smirked and looked over her husbands wearing their black professor's robes.

"Why Professors" she stood up and pulled her wand before waving it over herself.

She transfigured her black pencil skirt into a grey pleated skirt, her white silk shirt turned into an oxford shirt and a Gryffindor tie appeared around her neck and her plain black robes transfigured into Gryffindor robes, grey knee highs socks appeared, her four inch peep toe heels stayed the same and her hair was took out of the bun and fell down her back and shoulders. They stared at her and gulped.

"This Gryffindor uniform?" she asked innocently.

James groaned and Sirius growled, before she knew it she was tackled to the bed and she laughed.

* * *

 **Hogwarts - Wednesday 15th February 1984**

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I HATE YOU!" Hermione yelled through her screams of pain.

"I'm sure you do, Love" Sirius said rubbing circles on her back and James rubbed her shoulders as she gripped one of their hands each.

"Don't patronise me!" she snapped and Sirius paled.

"Come on, my little witch, you're almost there"

"Just one more push" Madam Pomphrey said.

Hermione sobbed, but pushed when told to.

"I SERIOUSLY HATE YOU!" she screamed and then fell back against her husbands and she heard a cry.

A pink bundle was placed into the cradle of her arms and she looked down at the beautiful little girl in her arms. Ivory skin, her father's black hair and dark eyes, Hermione only hoped she didn't inherit her curls.

"We did it" Sirius whispered in awe and she turned her head to see tears in his eyes. He looked her in the eye to see tears falling down her face and he kissed her softly.

"She looks like you" Hermione whispered. "You're the father of a beautiful daughter" James was smiling at the two of them.

"She really does look like you, Padfoot. A true Lady Black. Beautiful and no doubt a scary as hell temper"

"She'll get her temper from her mum" Sirius replied. Hermione placed their daughter into his arms and he stared down at her in adoration.

"She's beautiful" Hermione looked up to see Madam Pomphrey and McGonagall watching them with smiles.

"Thank you, Minerva, Poppy"

"As much I hate to admit it, Sirius, you will make a wonderful father"

Sirius pulled his eyes away from his daughter to look at McGonagall.

"Thank you, Minnie" he whispered and he looked back down at his daughter.

"What's her name?"

"Walburga" Hermione deadpanned.

"What?" Sirius hissed. "That's not what we agreed on"

Hermione and James burst out laughing. "Just kidding" she said through chuckles. "You should've seen your face, it's not nice to play jokes on people, is it Sirius?"

"Shut up" he mumbled under his breath.

There was a ruckus and the doors to the hospital wing burst open revealing a crowd of people. All the Weasleys, the Prewett twins, Remus, Harry, the Malfoys and Theo.

"We've been waiting out in the corridor for the last three hours" Narcissa huffed. Hermione chuckled.

"Everyone, I would like you to meet our daughter" all eyes snapped to the buddle in Sirius' arms and their eyes softened. "Harry, meet your little sister" she said and Remus sat him on the bed so he could see. "This is Ella Lily Potter-Black"

"A beautiful name" Narcissa replied with tears in her eyes and Molly was crying. James kissed her cheek softly.

"Molly, Remus, will you be the god parents?" Hermione asked, Remus' eyes shone and Molly cried.

"Welcome to the family" Hermione whispered to her daughter.

* * *

 **Hogwarts – Saturday 1st September 1984**

Hermione was sat at the head's table with her daughter in her arms and Harry was sat on a chair in-between her and James. They were watching Charlie being sorted.

"GRYFFINDOR" the hat yelled and everyone cheered.

Charlie beamed at Hermione and his uncles and cousins. She winked at him and he made his way to the Gryffindor table.

* * *

 **Hogwarts - Tuesday 1st September 1987**

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat roared as Percy was sorted into Gryffindor house. A very heavily pregnant Hermione clapped along with her husbands, children and nephews.

* * *

 **Hogwarts - Wednesday 2nd September 1987**

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I HATE YOU!" Hermione screamed.

"Okay" James rolled his eyes as he rubbed his wife's back and Sirius her shoulders.

"Don't patronise me" she snapped.

She pushed again. "I SWEAR TO MERLIN, WE ARE NEVER HAVING SEX AGAIN"

"Whatever you say, Love" Sirius replied.

"One more push" Madam Pomphrey spoke.

Hermione sobbed and gave one final push until she heard a baby crying and she slumped against her husbands.

A pink bundle was put into her arms and Hermione smiled down at the newest addition to the family. Their daughter had her mother's mahogany hair, but her father's hazel eyes and nose.

She turned to James to see tears in his eyes. "You're the father of a beautiful little girl" he looked at her adoringly and he kissed Hermione softly.

A ruckus was heard and the doors burst open, revealing their large family. They came in and looked down at the little girl.

"She's beautiful" Narcissa said crying and she and Molly wiped away their tears. Hermione handed their daughter to James.

"Harry, Ella" she looked at the seven year old and the two year old. "Meet your littler sister. This is Ariel Narcissa Potter-Black"

Narcissa let out a loud sob. "Cissy, Lucius, will you be the god parents?" their answer was written as clear as day on their faces.

* * *

 **Hogwarts - Friday 1st September 1989**

"GRYFFINDOR!" they hat yelled as Fred and George were sorted into Gryffindor.

They both did a victory dance in the middle of the hall and Hermione and her family laughed loudly and applauded them. Instead of going to the Gryffindor table the twins walked up to the head's table.

"You can teach us how to make fireworks now" George grinned.

"Hmm? We'll see, you have to earn it first" Hermione replied.

"How do we do that?" Fred asked with a crest fallen face.

Hermione and her husbands shared a smirk. She leaned forward and motioned for them to do so as well.

"If you can successfully pull a prank on Severus without getting caught, I will teach you" their eyes widened. "And" she spoke getting their attention. "I will give you the location of the Marauder's map"

"Really?" they whispered in disbelief.

"Really" she kissed their cheeks and sent them on their way to their seats.

"Severus will kill you" James said with a chuckle.

"No, I have his wife on my side, and if he wants to have a son, for his daughter to grow up with, he will do as she says"

"You women are diabolical" Sirius muttered and Hermione smiled innocently.

* * *

 **Hogwarts - Sunday 1st September 1991**

Hermione watched in pride as her son, Harry, was sorted into Gryffindor. And as her nephews, Ron was sorted into Gryffindor, Draco Slytherin and Theo Ravenclaw.

"A few years and they will be sixteen" Sirius smirked.

Hermione went pale.

"Oh, Merlin, I'm never going to be able to look at them. How am I suppose to teach them?" she whispered and buried her face in her hands. Her husbands burst out laughing.

"I wonder where Mini-you is" James said.

"They moved to France, she'll be attending Beauxbatons" Hermione shrugged. "Who knows, she might have a better life, they're a lot more observant over there and so they'll notice if anything is a miss" they nodded.

* * *

 **Hogwarts - Tuesday 1st September 1992**

"GRYFFINDOR!" the sorting hat yelled as Ginny Weasley was the last Weasley to be sorted into Gryffindor house.

James and Sirius grumbled but promptly removed a pouch of galleons from their robes and put them on the table in front of Hermione.

"Thank you, boys" she smirked. "Honestly, why would you even bet against me? I did tell you that all the Weasley's would end up in Gryffindor, although, I think Fred and George could've easily been placed in Slytherin"

"Bite your tongue" she heard Severus drawl and she laughed at him.

* * *

 **Hogwarts - Sunday 13th December 1992**

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I HATE YOU!"

"We love you too" James replied, rubbing her back.

"I hate you, you did this to me" she sobbed.

"Actually it was Padfoot" James deadpanned.

"YOU ARE BOTH GETTING CASTRATED!"

They winced.

"I do believe she's being serious, Prongs"

"Yeah, best not wind her up" he nodded in agreement.

"SHUT UP!" Hermione growled and she gave one final push and she fell back against her husbands and a cry was heard.

A blue bundle was placed into her arms.

"You have a son, Sirius"

"I have a son" he whispered in adoration. He had black hair, chocolate brown eyes and Hermione's small button nose.

The doors were thrown open and her family ran in.

"Mum" a twelve year old Harry yelled and he beat everyone to the bed and he looked down at the baby boy.

"Mum" Ella and Ariel yelled, Ella being seven and Ariel now being five.

"Aunt Mia" her nephews and nieces yelled.

"Hey everyone" Hermione said softly.

"Harry, Ella, Ariel, this is your little brother. Cole Regulus Potter-Black" they smiled down at the little bundle now being past to his father.

"Severus?" she looked up at him. "Minerva? Will you be the god parents?" Severus acted like he was annoyed but she saw his mouth twitch and his eyes soften and McGonagall cried.

Hermione looked around at her family with a smile.

 _'It all worked out for the better'_ she thought looking at her husband and children, her nieces and nephews – Malfoys and Weasleys, Remus and Tonks who was six months pregnant, Severus and his wife and daughter and Minerva McGonagall.

Voldemort was wrong.

Love and hope are an extremely powerful form of magic.


End file.
